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

Hennigan, 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 Hennigan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hennigan in America

Hennigan is the 10726th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hennigan surname appeared 2,978 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Hennigan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hennigan 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 Hennigan

The surname Hennigan is of Irish origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Gaelic personal name Ó hEanacháin, which means "descendant of Eanachán." The name Eanachán is a diminutive form of the name Eanach, meaning "bird-like" or "birdlike."

The Hennigan surname is believed to have originated in County Sligo, Ireland, where the family was initially based. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history written in the 17th century.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Hennigan surname was Tomaltach Ó hEanacháin, who was mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters under the year 1328. He was described as the chief poet of the Ó Ruairc family, who were lords of West Breifne (modern-day County Leitrim and parts of County Cavan).

Another notable figure from medieval times was Giolla na Naomh Ó hEanacháin, who lived in the 15th century and was a renowned poet and scholar. His works are preserved in the Book of Ballymote, a valuable manuscript compiled in the late 14th century.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Hennigan surname was particularly prominent in County Sligo, where they held lands around the baronies of Carbury and Leyny. One notable member of the family was Donnchadh Ó hEanacháin, who was a prominent landowner and chieftain in the area during the early 17th century.

In the 18th century, the name Hennigan began to spread beyond County Sligo, with members of the family settling in other parts of Ireland, as well as in England and North America. One famous bearer of the name was Michael Hennigan (1776-1841), an Irish-born soldier who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and later settled in Canada.

Other notable individuals with the Hennigan surname include Bridget Hennigan (1832-1899), an Irish-American philanthropist and founder of the Hennigan School in Boston, and John Hennigan (1861-1917), an Irish-American labor leader and politician who served as the 14th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hennigan

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

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 Hennigan 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 Hennigan 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 Hennigan was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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