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

Mulligan, 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 Mulligan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mulligan in America

Mulligan is the 2469th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mulligan surname appeared 14,590 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Mulligan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mulligan 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 Mulligan

The surname Mulligan originated in Ireland, with the earliest recorded examples dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be an Anglicized version of the Gaelic surname Ó Mullagáin, derived from the Irish word "mullach," meaning "summit" or "hilltop." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a hilltop or prominent hill.

The Mulligan surname was particularly prevalent in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, where it is associated with the Gaelic dynasty of the Maguires. Historical records show that the Mulligans were among the prominent families who supported the Maguires during their conflicts with the English crown in the 16th and 17th centuries.

One of the earliest recorded references to the Mulligan surname can be found in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, a collection of Irish legal documents from the 16th century. The name appears in various spellings, such as Mulligane, Mullygan, and Mullegan, reflecting the fluid nature of surname spellings in earlier times.

Notable individuals with the Mulligan surname include:

1. Thomas Mulligan (c. 1736-1783), an Irish-born soldier who served in the American Revolutionary War and was one of the first to join the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry.

2. James A. Mulligan (1830-1864), an Irish-American soldier who fought in the American Civil War and is remembered for his defense of Lexington, Missouri, in 1861.

3. Ada Mulligan (1869-1950), an Irish actress and singer who performed in England and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

4. Hercules Mulligan (1740-1825), an Irish-American tailor and spy during the American Revolutionary War, known for his role in the Culper Ring, a spy network that provided valuable intelligence to General George Washington.

5. John Mulligan (1835-1919), an Irish-born prelate who served as the first Bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, from 1874 to 1901.

While the Mulligan surname has spread across the globe due to Irish migration, its roots can be traced back to the rugged hills of Ireland, where it originally gained significance as a marker of place and identity.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mulligan

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

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

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

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