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

McGaffigan, 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 McGaffigan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McGaffigan in America

McGaffigan is the 64388th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McGaffigan surname appeared 309 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname McGaffigan.

We can also compare 2010 data for McGaffigan 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 McGaffigan

The surname McGaffigan is of Irish origin and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Gaelic 'Mac Gabhann', which means 'son of the blacksmith'. The name was originally found in County Tyrone, Ulster Province, Northern Ireland.

McGaffigan is an anglicized version of the old Irish name 'Mac Gabhann'. Similar spellings include MacGavin, MacGovan, and McGauvran. The prefix 'Mac' denotes 'son of', while the root word 'Gabhann' means 'blacksmith' or 'metalworker'.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. In 1198, it mentions a 'Gilla-Pátraic Mac Gabhann' as a witness to a legal transaction.

In the 16th century, the McGaffigans were a prominent family in the parish of Ardboe, County Tyrone. They held lands in the townlands of Ballymogavigan and Ballygawley. The name 'Ballymogavigan' is derived from the Irish 'Baile Mhic Gabhann', meaning 'the town of the McGaffigans'.

Notable individuals with the surname McGaffigan include:

1. Eamon McGaffigan (1924-2009), an Irish republican activist and former member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA).
2. Charles McGaffigan (1873-1949), an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois.
3. John McGaffigan (1815-1894), an Irish-born American prelate who served as the Bishop of Savannah, Georgia, from 1857 to 1894.
4. James McGaffigan (1841-1920), an Irish-born American prelate who served as the Bishop of Jaro, Philippines, from 1898 to 1912.
5. William McGaffigan (1878-1960), an Irish-born prelate who served as the Bishop of Ogdensburg, New York, from 1923 to 1947.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McGaffigan

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

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

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

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