# Mulligan (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/mulligan/  
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 | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 14,590 |
| US rank (2010) | 2,469 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 21,161 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.5% (14,229 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmʌlɪɡən/, 3 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Mullican |

## Etymology

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Maolagáin, from maolagán (“person with cropped hair”), from maol (“bald”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Mulligan 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) | 91% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 3.5% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.7% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.8% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3% |
| Two or more races | 1.3% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Mulligan in the United States and the United Kingdom.

## People named Mulligan

- Carey Mulligan, British actress (born 1985)
- Robert Mulligan, American director (1925-2008)
- Gerry Mulligan, American jazz musician and composer (1927–1996)
- Richard Mulligan, American actor (1932-2000)

## Similar surnames

Milligan, Mullikin, Mullican, Milliken, Melson, Millican, Malcom, Malagon, Malkin, Millikan, Millikin, Mulqueen.

## 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.