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

Scanlon, 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 Scanlon surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Scanlon in America

Scanlon is the 3101st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Scanlon surname appeared 11,610 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Scanlon.

We can also compare 2010 data for Scanlon 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 Scanlon

The surname Scanlon originates from Ireland and dates back to the 12th century. It is an anglicized form of the Gaelic name O'Scannlain, which means "descendant of Scannlan." The name Scannlan is derived from the Gaelic words "scann" meaning ancient or old and "lan" meaning warrior or chieftain.

The Scanlon name is most associated with counties in the northern part of Ireland, particularly in Ulster and Connacht. Early records show the name appearing in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history written in the 17th century, where it is spelled as O'Scannlain.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the Scanlon name dates back to the 14th century, when a John O'Scannlain was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Cloyne, a historical record of tax payments in County Cork. Over time, the name evolved into various spellings such as Scanlon, Scanlan, and Scanlan.

Notable individuals bearing the Scanlon surname include Michael Scanlon (c. 1933-2012), an Irish playwright and author known for his works like "The Cavan Cattle Raid" and "The Body Guard." Another prominent figure was Reverend Martin J. Scanlon (1910-1998), a Catholic priest and civil rights activist who fought against racial segregation in the United States.

In the realm of sports, John Scanlon (1901-1957) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the 1920s. Additionally, Patrick Scanlon (1856-1927) was a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as a member of the House of Commons of Canada.

Furthermore, the Scanlon name has been associated with several place names in Ireland, such as Scanlonstwon in County Kilkenny and Scanlonstown in County Tipperary, which likely derive their names from early inhabitants with the Scanlon surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Scanlon

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

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

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

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