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

Morgan, 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 Morgan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Morgan in America

Morgan is the 69th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Morgan surname appeared 286,280 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 97 people would have the surname Morgan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Morgan 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 Morgan

The surname Morgan originated in Wales, derived from the Welsh male given name "Morganā€¯", which is thought to mean "sea-born" or "circling sea". This name was particularly prevalent in areas such as Glamorgan and Monmouthshire.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Morgan can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Morgant". This suggests that the name was already in use in England by the time of the Norman Conquest.

During the Middle Ages, the surname Morgan was associated with various noble families in Wales, such as the Morgans of Tredegar and the Morgans of Pencoed. Notable figures from this period include Sir John Morgan (c. 1380-1443), a Welsh soldier and landowner, and Sir Thomas Morgan (c. 1485-1556), a Welsh politician and courtier.

In the 16th century, the Morgan surname began to spread more widely across England and other parts of the British Isles. One of the most famous bearers of the name during this time was Sir Henry Morgan (1635-1688), a Welsh privateer and pirate who became Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica.

As the Morgan surname grew in popularity, it became associated with various place names, such as Morgans Town in West Virginia and Morgan City in Louisiana. The name also saw variations in spelling, including Morgant, Morganwg, and Morganau.

Other notable individuals with the surname Morgan throughout history include:

1. William Morgan (c. 1545-1604), a Welsh biblical scholar and translator of the first modern Welsh Bible.
2. Daniel Morgan (1736-1802), an American pioneer, soldier, and United States Representative from Virginia.
3. John Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913), an American financier and banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street.
4. Joseph Morgan (1857-1923), a Welsh-born American businessman and founder of the Morgan Corporation.
5. Charles Langbridge Morgan (1894-1958), a British novelist and playwright.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Morgan

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

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

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

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