How common is the surname Flanagan?

30,887 people in the United States had the surname Flanagan in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 9,996 Americans. It ranked 1,134th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Flanagan?

Richard Flanagan, Australian writer and novelist, followed by Mike Flanagan.

Where is the surname Flanagan most common?

Wikidata records people named Flanagan in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Is the surname Flanagan getting more or less common?

More common. 29,563 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 30,887 in 2010, up 4.5%.

What are other spellings of Flanagan?

Flanagin, Flannagan, Flanigan and Flannigan.

The surname Flanagan

An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 30,887 people in the United States.

3 syllables Soundex F452

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Flanagan is more common than 99.3% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

From Irish Ó Flannagáin (“descendant of Flannagán”), a personal name from a double diminutive of flann (“blood red”).

Flanagan is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 30,887 people named Flanagan in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 9,996 Americans. That is up 4.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 29,563.

#1,134

rank among US surnames

30,887

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+4.5%

change since 2000 (was #1,079)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,125	Ng	31,210	9,893
#1,126	Kendall	31,209	9,893
#1,127	Cleveland	31,123	9,920
#1,128	Crowley	31,098	9,928
#1,129	Pearce	31,060	9,940
#1,130	Dillard	31,021	9,953
#1,131	Wilder	31,018	9,954

Who is named Flanagan

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

89% of people named Flanagan identified as white (not Hispanic), 6.5% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 89%
Black (not Hispanic) 6.5%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
Two or more races 1.3%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Flanagans

28 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Richard Flanagan
Australian writer and novelist, born 1961
Mike Flanagan
American filmmaker (born 1978)
Tommy Flanagan
British actor (1965-)
Tommy Flanagan
American jazz pianist (1930-2001)
Shalane Flanagan
American distance runner, born 1981
Peggy Flanagan
American politician, born 1979
Maile Flanagan
American actress, born 1965
John Flanagan
Australian fantasy author (1944–2026)
James Flanagan
American rower (1878-1937)
Patrick Flanagan
American tug of war competitor, 1900–2000
Crista Flanagan
American actress, born 1976
Jeanne Flanagan
American rower, born 1957

Notable Flanagans come mostly from the United States (22), Australia (3) and the United Kingdom (3).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Surnames that sound like Flanagan

Flanagan has the Soundex code F452, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code F452.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Flanagan come from?: From Irish Ó Flannagáin (“descendant of Flannagán”), a personal name from a double diminutive of flann (“blood red”).
How common is the surname Flanagan?: 30,887 people in the United States had the surname Flanagan in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 9,996 Americans. It ranked 1,134th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Flanagan?: In the 2010 Census, 89% of people named Flanagan identified as white (not Hispanic), and 6.5% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Flanagan?: Richard Flanagan, Australian writer and novelist, followed by Mike Flanagan.
Where is the surname Flanagan most common?: Wikidata records people named Flanagan in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.
What type of surname is Flanagan?: Flanagan is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Flanagan getting more or less common?: More common. 29,563 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 30,887 in 2010, up 4.5%.
What are other spellings of Flanagan?: Flanagin, Flannagan, Flanigan and Flannigan.