# Nelligan (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/nelligan/  
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) | 1,231 |
| US rank (2010) | 21,288 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 250,809 people |
| Change since 2000 | +7.3% (1,147 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Niallagáin (“descendant of Niallagán”), a double diminutive of Niall.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Nelligan 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% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1.9% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 1.2% |

## Similar surnames

Nelson, Nielsen, Nielson, Nilson, Nelsen, Neilson, Nilsen, Nilsson, Neilsen.

## 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.