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

Nunan, 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 Nunan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nunan in America

Nunan is the 37180th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nunan surname appeared 600 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 Nunan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nunan 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 Nunan

The surname Nunan originated in Ireland, with the earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. It is an anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name Ó Nualláin, which translates to "descendant of Nualláin." Nualláin itself is derived from the Old Irish word "nuall," meaning "roar" or "loud voice."

The Nunan name is primarily associated with County Tipperary and County Kilkenny in Ireland, where the earliest bearers of the name were based. The Ó Nualláin clan was part of the Dál gCais tribal group, which ruled the region now known as County Clare during the Middle Ages.

One of the earliest known references to the Nunan name can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. The annals mention a "Maurice O'Nullane" who died in 1569.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Nunan family was prominent in County Kilkenny, where they held lands in the baronies of Crannagh and Gowran. One notable member of the family was James Nunan (c. 1580-1650), a Catholic landowner who was involved in the Irish Confederate Wars of the 1640s.

Another significant figure was Patrick Nunan (1650-1720), a Jacobite soldier and landowner from County Tipperary. He fought for the Catholic King James II during the Williamite War in Ireland (1689-1691) and later had his lands confiscated by the Protestant authorities.

In the 18th century, the Nunan name spread across Ireland and beyond, with some members emigrating to other parts of the British Empire, including North America and Australia. One notable bearer of the name was Joseph Nunan (1800-1880), an Irish-born soldier who served in the British Army and later settled in Australia, where he became a successful farmer and landowner.

Other notable individuals with the Nunan surname include Thomas Nunan (1786-1859), an Irish-born businessman and politician who served as Mayor of Montreal, Canada, in the 1840s, and Thomas Patrick Nunan (1851-1925), an Irish-American lawyer and judge who served on the Illinois Supreme Court in the early 20th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nunan

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

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

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

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