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

Strachan, 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 Strachan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Strachan in America

Strachan is the 7781st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Strachan surname appeared 4,266 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Strachan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Strachan 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 Strachan

The surname Strachan is of Scottish origin and dates back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Gaelic phrase 'strath an', meaning 'valley dweller'. This name was likely adopted by early bearers who lived in the valley regions of Scotland, particularly in areas such as Kincardineshire and Aberdeenshire.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from 1538, which mention a person named Alexander Strachan. The name also appears in the Scottish Ecclesiastical Records, with a record from 1593 referring to a John Strachan who was a minister in the parish of Arbuthnott, Kincardineshire.

The Strachan name has a strong connection to the town of Banchory in Aberdeenshire, where a prominent family bearing the name resided for several generations. Sir John Strachan (1778-1867), a Scottish Anglican bishop and educator, was born in Banchory and played a significant role in the establishment of educational institutions in Upper Canada (now Ontario, Canada).

Another notable figure with the Strachan surname was Sir Richard Strachan (1772-1828), a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in Wiltshire, England, and is remembered for his victories in the Battle of Cape Ortegal in 1805 and the Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne in 1808.

In the 19th century, William Strachan (1814-1890), a Scottish engraver and artist, gained recognition for his work on the illustrations for Sir Walter Scott's novels. He was born in Edinburgh and contributed to the revival of wood engraving as an art form.

Another notable bearer of the name was James Strachan (1832-1897), a Scottish businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune in the textile industry. He was born in Dunfermline and was known for his charitable contributions to educational institutions and hospitals in his hometown.

The Strachan name has also been associated with several place names in Scotland, such as Strachan in Aberdeenshire, which was derived from the Gaelic phrase 'strath an' and likely served as the origin for the surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Strachan

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

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

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

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