2000
#11,212
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,593
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.96
Rare Last name
Hartigan
An Irish surname derived from Ó hArtagáin, meaning "descendant of Artagán," a personal name of unknown meaning.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,056 Americans carry the last name Hartigan. That puts it at #11,321 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.89 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 112,158 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hartigan 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 Hartigan with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.1K
1 in 112,158
Census rank
#11,321
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,665 bearers of the surname Hartigan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.89 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11321st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hartigan, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hartigan
The surname Hartigan has its origins in Ireland, dating back to the 16th century. It is an anglicized version of the Irish Gaelic name "O'hArtgaine," which means "descendant of Artgaine." Artgaine was a personal name derived from the Gaelic words "art" meaning "bear" and "gan" meaning "without," suggesting the name might have originally referred to someone who was bearless or without a bear.
The earliest recorded instance of the Hartigan name can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. The annals mention a "Donough O'Hartigan" who was involved in a skirmish in County Clare in the year 1581.
The Hartigans were most prevalent in County Clare and the surrounding areas of Munster in the southwestern part of Ireland. Some early variations of the spelling included Hartgan, Hartagen, and Hartagan.
One notable Hartigan from history was John Hartigan, a Irish Jacobite soldier who fought for the Catholic King James II during the Williamite War in Ireland from 1689 to 1691. He was born around 1660 and later fled to France after the war ended.
Another prominent figure was Patrick Hartigan (1778-1866), an Irish politician who served as a Member of Parliament for the County Limerick constituency in the United Kingdom Parliament from 1837 to 1847.
In the late 18th century, a branch of the Hartigan family emigrated from Ireland to Australia, where they became influential in the early colonial days. One of the earliest Australian Hartigans was John Hartigan (1799-1878), who arrived in Sydney in 1820 and later became a successful merchant and landowner.
The name Hartigan also has a connection to the literary world through the American novelist and short story writer Frank Hartigan (1905-1976), who was known for his works set in his native Boston and exploring themes of Irish-American identity.
Throughout history, the Hartigan surname has maintained a strong association with its Irish roots, originating from the Gaelic "O'hArtgaine" and appearing in various historical records and literature over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hartigan
Among Census respondents with the surname Hartigan, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Hartigan 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 Hartigan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.2% · 2,510
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 67
- Two or more races1.8% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 17
- Black or African American0.5% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hartigan
Hartigan 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
#11,597
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,707
+114 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 0.92
Rank movement Down 385 places
2020
#11,321
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,665
-42 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Up 276 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,212 | 2,593 | 0.96 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,597 | 2,707 | 0.92 | +114 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 385 places |
| 2020 | #11,321 | 2,665 | 0.89 | -42 bearers (-1.6%) | Up 276 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 Hartigan 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 | #11,597 | #11,321 | 2.4% |
| Count | 2,707 | 2,665 | -1.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.92 | 0.89 | -3.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hartigan bearers went from 2,707 to 2,665 (-1.6% change). The surname moved up 276 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,597 to #11,321.
FAQ
Hartigan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hartigan?
Name Census estimates that about 3,056 living Americans carry the surname Hartigan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 112,158 residents.
How common is Hartigan?
Hartigan ranks #11,321 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.89 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,665 people with the surname Hartigan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,056), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.89 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.89 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Hartigan.
Has Hartigan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hartigan went from 2,707 recorded bearers to 2,665. That is a decrease of 42 (-1.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,597 to #11,321.
What does the Census say about the background of Hartigan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hartigan, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Hartigan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (2,510 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hartigan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.2%), Hispanic (2.5%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Hartigan (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 Hartigan mean?
An Irish surname derived from Ó hArtagáin, meaning "descendant of Artagán," a personal name of unknown meaning. 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 Hartigan (0.89 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 Hartigan?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.