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

Ocain, 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 Ocain surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ocain in America

Ocain is the 30013th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ocain surname appeared 782 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 Ocain.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ocain 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 Ocain

The surname OCAIN has its origins in Ireland, dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Irish Gaelic name "O Cathain," which means "descendant of Cathán." Cathán was a personal name derived from the word "cath," meaning "battle" or "warrior."

The O'Cains were a prominent family in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, and their ancestral homeland was the Barony of Tirkeeran. The name first appears in historical records in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Gillacathán Ó Cathán, who was mentioned in the Annals as a leader of the Cenél Eógain, a powerful Irish dynasty, in the late 12th century.

The OCAIN surname is also found in various spellings, such as O'Cahan, O'Kahan, and O'Keane, reflecting the phonetic variations common in Irish names.

A notable member of the OCAIN family was Sir Donnell O'Cahan, who was knighted by King James I of England in 1605 for his loyalty to the English crown during the Nine Years' War in Ireland. He was granted lands in County Londonderry and played a significant role in the Plantation of Ulster.

Another prominent figure was John O'Cain (1701-1774), an Irish poet and songwriter from County Armagh, known for his compositions in the Irish language.

In the 19th century, James O'Cain (1832-1910) was a successful businessman and philanthropist in New York City, contributing to the establishment of the O'Cain Trade School for young men.

The OCAIN surname also has connections to place names in Ireland, such as the townland of Cainside in County Antrim, which is derived from the Irish "Céide Ó gCathán," meaning "O'Cain's path or way."

Furthermore, Aodh Ó Cathán (1600-1675) was an Irish historian and chronicler from County Londonderry, who wrote extensively about the history and genealogy of the O'Cain family and the Cenél Eógain dynasty.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ocain

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

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

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

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