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

McGahan, 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 McGahan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McGahan in America

McGahan is the 18640th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McGahan surname appeared 1,476 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 McGahan.

We can also compare 2010 data for McGahan 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 McGahan

The surname McGahan is of Irish origin, originating in the medieval period. It is an anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name "Mag Athain", which means "son of Athan". The prefix "Mac" or "Mc" means "son of" in Gaelic.

The McGahan name is believed to have first appeared in County Fermanagh, located in the province of Ulster in Northern Ireland. The name may also have been present in County Donegal, which borders County Fermanagh. These areas were part of the historical Gaelic territory known as Tír Chonaill.

Records show that the McGahan surname can be traced back to the 14th century. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions a chieftain named "Mag Athain" in the year 1351.

In the 16th century, the McGahan name was also found in the Fiants of the Tudor Conquest, a collection of official documents from the English conquest of Ireland. These records mention individuals with the surname McGahan, as well as variations such as McGaughan and McGahen.

One notable figure in history with the McGahan surname was James McGahan, an Irish American surgeon born in 1844 in County Fermanagh. He served as a surgeon in the Union Army during the American Civil War and later became a prominent physician in St. Louis, Missouri.

Another individual of note was Michael McGahan, a 19th-century Irish Catholic priest and author from County Leitrim, Ireland. He was born in 1824 and is known for his work "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland", published in 1868.

In the 20th century, James McGahan (1900-1978) was a Canadian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. He represented the constituency of Melfort from 1944 to 1964.

Patrick McGahan (1925-2016) was an Irish businessman and philanthropist from County Fermanagh. He founded the McGahan Engineering Company and was a significant donor to educational and community initiatives in Ireland.

John McGahan (born 1947) is a British actor known for his roles in television shows such as "Coronation Street" and "Emmerdale". He has had a long career in theatre, film, and television spanning several decades.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McGahan

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

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

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

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