2000
#5,506
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,801
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.15
Rare Last name
Harrigan
Anglicized form of Irish Ó hArragáin, meaning "descendant of Arragán," a personal name of unknown origin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,915 Americans carry the last name Harrigan. That puts it at #5,566 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 49,567 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Harrigan surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Harrigan with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.9K
1 in 49,567
Census rank
#5,566
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,030 bearers of the surname Harrigan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5566th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Harrigan, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.0%. The next largest groups are Black (15.6%) and Hispanic (5.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Harrigan
Among Census respondents with the surname Harrigan, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.0%. The next largest groups are Black (15.6%) and Hispanic (5.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Harrigan bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Harrigan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.0% · 4,464
- Black or African American15.6% · 939
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 353
- Two or more races3.4% · 207
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 56
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Harrigan
Harrigan appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#5,250
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,646
+845 bearers (+14.6%)
Per 100,000 2.25
Rank movement Up 256 places
2020
#5,566
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,030
-616 bearers (-9.3%)
Per 100,000 2.02
Rank movement Down 316 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,506 | 5,801 | 2.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,250 | 6,646 | 2.25 | +845 bearers (+14.6%) | Up 256 places |
| 2020 | #5,566 | 6,030 | 2.02 | -616 bearers (-9.3%) | Down 316 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Harrigan surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #5,250 | #5,566 | -6.0% |
| Count | 6,646 | 6,030 | -9.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.25 | 2.02 | -10.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Harrigan bearers went from 6,646 to 6,030 (-9.3% change). The surname moved down 316 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,250 to #5,566.
FAQ
Harrigan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Harrigan?
Name Census estimates that about 6,915 living Americans carry the surname Harrigan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 49,567 residents.
How common is Harrigan?
Harrigan ranks #5,566 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.02 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,030 people with the surname Harrigan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,915), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.02 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Harrigan.
Has Harrigan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Harrigan went from 6,646 recorded bearers to 6,030. That is a decrease of 616 (-9.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,250 to #5,566.
What does the Census say about the background of Harrigan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Harrigan, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.0%. The next largest groups are Black (15.6%) and Hispanic (5.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Harrigan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.0% (4,464 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Harrigan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.0%), Black (15.6%), Hispanic (5.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Harrigan (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Harrigan mean?
Anglicized form of Irish Ó hArragáin, meaning "descendant of Arragán," a personal name of unknown origin. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Harrigan (2.02 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Harrigan?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.