Cunnigham Surname

382,080th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 932 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Ireland

Cunnigham Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Cunningham,' a district in North Ayrshire, containing a large number of parishes.

1502. Buried — Thomas Conningham: St. Michael, Cornhill.

1711. Married — Robert Hammond and Elizabeth Cunningham: ibid.

Read More About This Surname

Cunnigham Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States5981:606,11949,257
Ireland921:51,1843,668
England581:960,65648,451
Canada551:669,92054,285
Northern Ireland241:76,8765,365
Australia211:1,285,51068,491
Nicaragua201:301,0543,003
Ecuador181:883,65813,769
Panama161:244,5166,353
Scotland61:892,30328,047
New Zealand41:1,132,08147,619
Costa Rica31:1,593,3568,177
Mexico31:41,375,40271,397
Argentina21:21,371,707253,176
Jamaica21:1,434,97411,081
Germany21:40,252,730481,636
Russia11:144,123,056881,408
Serbia11:7,144,94838,459
South Africa11:54,177,704343,732
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Venezuela11:30,204,07785,459
Honduras11:8,816,4429,272
Colombia11:47,774,07244,230
Cuba11:11,522,71617,380
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland2251:19,6882,339
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland151:249,5488,553
England41:6,093,842135,151
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1621:309,99224,444

Cunnigham Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Cunningham,' a district in North Ayrshire, containing a large number of parishes.

1502. Buried — Thomas Conningham: St. Michael, Cornhill.

1711. Married — Robert Hammond and Elizabeth Cunningham: ibid.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

The northern district of Ayrshire, containing many parishes, whence the old earls of Glencairn. Conyngham and Cunynghame are varieties of this name.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

CUNNGHAME: Local: From the district of Cunninghame in Ayrshire. Malcolm Canmore being hotly pursued by Macbeth took refuge in a barn, where a countryman called Malcolm the son of Friskin, concealed him by forking hay or straw over him; on the accession of Malcolm Can-more to the throne he granted to his deliverer the Thanedom of Cunninghame, and for his arms, argent a shake fork sable, with the motto, "Over fork over."

The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames (1862) by Clifford Stanley Sims (1839-1896)

Local. A district in Ayrshire, Scotland. The name signifies the dwelling of the chief or king, from the Saxon, cyning, Dutch, koning, a leader or chief, and ham, a house or town.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

Cunnigham Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Cunnigham Come From? nationality or country of origin

Cunnigham has its highest incidence in The United States. It may occur as a variant:. For other possible spellings of this last name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Cunnigham? popularity and diffusion

The last name is the 382,080th most commonly held family name at a global level. It is borne by approximately 1 in 7,819,255 people. The last name occurs predominantly in The Americas, where 74 percent of Cunnigham reside; 67 percent reside in North America and 67 percent reside in Anglo-North America.

The last name Cunnigham is most frequently held in The United States, where it is carried by 598 people, or 1 in 606,119. In The United States Cunnigham is primarily concentrated in: Texas, where 11 percent reside, California, where 8 percent reside and Florida, where 8 percent reside. Other than The United States Cunnigham occurs in 23 countries. It is also common in Ireland, where 10 percent reside and England, where 6 percent reside.

Cunnigham Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The prevalency of Cunnigham has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people bearing the Cunnigham last name rose 369 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Ireland it decreased 59 percent between 1901 and 2014; in England it rose 1,450 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Scotland it decreased 60 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Cunnigham Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those bearing the surname is principally Catholic (84%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the Cunnigham last name are 13.23% more likely to be registered Republicans than the national average, with 60% registered to vote for the party.

The amount Cunnigham earn in different countries varies somewhat. In United States they earn 18.46% less than the national average, earning $35,185 USD per year and in Canada they earn 13.22% less than the national average, earning $43,113 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

Search for Another Surname

The name statistics are still in development, sign up for information on more maps and data

By signing up to the mailing list you will only receive emails specifically about name reference on Forebears and your information will not be distributed to 3rd parties.

Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Cunnigham
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis