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

Scanlan, 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 Scanlan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Scanlan in America

Scanlan is the 6068th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Scanlan surname appeared 5,654 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Scanlan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Scanlan 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 Scanlan

The surname Scanlan originates from Ireland, specifically the western province of Connacht. It is derived from the Gaelic word "Scannlán," which means "tall or thin person." The name is believed to have emerged in the 11th or 12th century.

Scanlan is an Anglicized version of the original Irish surname Ó Scannláin or Ó Scannlán. The prefix "Ó" signifies "descendant of" or "grandson of" in Irish. The name was initially associated with the area around County Sligo and County Mayo.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Scanlan can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. It mentions a notable figure named Giolla na Naomh Ó Scannláin, who was the Bishop of Raphoe in County Donegal in the early 13th century.

In the 14th century, the Scanlan name appeared in the Pipe Rolls of Cloyne, a record of land transactions and taxes in the Diocese of Cloyne, County Cork. This suggests that the Scanlan family had established a presence in the southern part of Ireland by that time.

Notable individuals with the surname Scanlan throughout history include:

1. Michael Scanlan (1844-1914), an Irish-American journalist and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri.
2. Patrick Scanlan (1856-1939), an Irish-born prelate who served as the Bishop of Salt Lake City from 1915 to 1927.
3. John Scanlan (1869-1957), an Irish-born prelate who served as the Bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska, from 1917 to 1931.
4. Lawrence Scanlan (1898-1969), an Irish-born prelate who served as the Bishop of Las Cruces, New Mexico, from 1958 to 1969.
5. Lawrence Scanlan (born 1944), a Canadian writer and journalist best known for his books on various aspects of Canadian culture and history.

The name Scanlan has also been associated with several place names in Ireland, such as Scanlon's Gap, a mountain pass in County Sligo, and Scanlon's Bay, a coastal area in County Mayo. These place names likely derived from the presence of Scanlan families in those regions historically.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Scanlan

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

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

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

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