# Halligan (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/halligan/  
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) | 3,220 |
| US rank (2010) | 10,013 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 95,884 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.6% (3,107 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhælɪɡən/, 3 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó hÁilleagáin (“descendant of Áilleagán”), a double diminutive of áille (“beauty”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Halligan 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) | 93% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 1.1% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.9% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.9% |
| Two or more races | 1.6% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Halligan in the United States and Australia.

## People named Halligan

- Dick Halligan, American musician and composer (1943–2022)
- Bronte Halligan, Australian water polo player
- Ryan Halligan, American student who killed himself (1989–2003)

## Similar surnames

Holcomb, Holguin, Holcombe, Halcomb, Holsinger, Hilson, Holzman, Huelsman, Hilgendorf, Hillsman.

## 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.