Find out how popular the last name Harrigan is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Harrigan.

Harrigan, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Harrigan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Harrigan in America

Harrigan is the 5250th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Harrigan surname appeared 6,646 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Harrigan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Harrigan to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Harrigan

The surname Harrigan is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic personal name "O'Hartgain," meaning "descendant of Hartgain." Hartgain itself is a compound word formed from the elements "hart" (a stag or deer) and the diminutive suffix "-gan." The name first emerged in County Donegal in Ulster Province, Ireland, during the 12th century.

The earliest recorded instance of the surname Harrigan can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled by Franciscan monks in the 17th century. The annals mention a notable figure named Turlough O'Hartgain, who was a chieftain of the O'Hartgain clan in Donegal in the late 12th century.

In the 16th century, the surname was anglicized from its original Gaelic form to various spellings such as Hartigan, Hartgan, and Harrigan. This was a common practice during the Tudor conquest of Ireland, as English administrators and scribes attempted to translate or adapt Irish names into more English-sounding forms.

One of the earliest documented examples of the Harrigan spelling can be found in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, a collection of royal letters patent and grants from the 16th century. In 1582, a land grant was issued to a "John Harrigan" in County Donegal.

Notable individuals with the surname Harrigan throughout history include:

1. William Harrigan (1831-1893), an Irish-American politician who served as the 57th Mayor of San Francisco from 1884 to 1886.

2. Pat Harrigan (1892-1954), an American professional baseball player who played for several Major League Baseball teams, including the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, in the early 20th century.

3. Paddy Harrigan (1866-1936), an Irish-American vaudeville performer and songwriter, best known for his popular song "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo."

4. Joseph Harrigan (1853-1927), an Irish-American actor, playwright, and producer who co-founded the famous Harrigan and Hart theatrical partnership in New York City.

5. Edward Harrigan (1844-1911), Joseph Harrigan's brother and collaborator, also a renowned actor, playwright, and comedian in the late 19th century American theater.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Harrigan

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Harrigan.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Harrigan was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Harrigan has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Harrigan was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Harrigan, please contact us.

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