# Colgan (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/colgan/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Irish.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Irish |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 3,651 |
| US rank (2010) | 8,965 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 84,565 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.8% (3,518 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Colligan |

## Etymology

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Colgáin (“descendant of Colgán”), a personal name derived from a diminutive form of colg (“thorn; sword”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Colgan in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 96% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.3% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.1% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.4% |
| Two or more races | 1.0% |

## Similar surnames

Colligan, Culligan, Colson, Clawson, Calkins, Clausen, Callaghan, Coulson, Callison, Claussen, Chilson, Collison.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.