Killough Surname

122,623rd
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 3,727 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Northern Ireland

Killough Surname Definition:

Though as a surname Killough is rarely found outside northern Ulster it is not derived from the Co. Down place name Killough, but is the form used in Ireland for the Scottish MacKelloch, a sept of the clan MacDonald. It appears in Co. Louth in the “census” of 1659 in the person of Jon Killogh, a citizen of Drogheda.

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Killough Surname Distribution Map

By incidenceBy frequencyBy rank
Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ARank (high to low)Rank (low to high)
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States3,4581:104,81811,526
Canada961:383,80834,152
Northern Ireland941:19,6282,401
England451:1,238,17956,985
Scotland141:382,41616,471
Ireland101:470,89415,820
Thailand31:23,546,115908,588
Philippines21:50,619,112341,003
India11:767,065,3821,851,717
Slovenia11:2,487,67531,128
Sweden11:9,846,757347,448
Turkey11:77,821,422191,047
Ecuador11:15,905,84650,210
Show All Nations
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland761:58,2884,634
Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ARank (high to low)Rank (low to high)
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland251:149,7296,268
England61:4,062,562101,150
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States4411:113,87511,266

Killough Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

Though as a surname Killough is rarely found outside northern Ulster it is not derived from the Co. Down place name Killough, but is the form used in Ireland for the Scottish MacKelloch, a sept of the clan MacDonald. It appears in Co. Louth in the “census” of 1659 in the person of Jon Killogh, a citizen of Drogheda. This, however, may possibly be a form of the English name Kellough or Kellow (derived from the place-name Kelloe). I suggest that Kellogg is an Americanized form of this Kellough.

Killoch is in the current Dublin city directory. There are six Killoughs in or near Ballymena in the telephone directory and the few earlier references to the name I have met are (with the exception of that to Killogh mentioned above) all to persons in that area of north Antrim and Derry. Another similar name occurs in the Dublin Justiciary Rolls of 1311 when John Kellagh was found guilty of burglary and hanged. This, however, may be a clerk's attempt at a phonetic rendering of Ó Ceallaigh (i.e. Kelly).

— Supplement to Irish Families (1964) by Edward MacLysaght

This is the Irish form of the Scottish MacKelloch, in Louth and Ulster since the seventeenth century. Kellough is an English toponymic distinct from Killough, and is presumably the original form of the American Kellogg. SIF 98

— A Guide to Irish Names (1964) by Edward MacLysaght
DNA test information
Display Statistics on:

Killough Demographics

Killough Religious Adherence
in Ireland

Sample size: 72 (1901)

Religious Adherence
in Ireland

View the most religious surnames in Ireland

Killough Last Name Facts

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

The last name Killough is found most in The United States. It may also occur as a variant:. For other possible spellings of this name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Killough? popularity and diffusion

Killough is the 122,623rd most commonly occurring surname internationally It is held by around 1 in 1,955,338 people. The last name Killough is primarily found in The Americas, where 95 percent of Killough reside; 95 percent reside in North America and 95 percent reside in Anglo-North America.

The last name Killough is most frequently held in The United States, where it is carried by 3,458 people, or 1 in 104,818. In The United States Killough is mostly concentrated in: Texas, where 25 percent live, Alabama, where 10 percent live and North Carolina, where 7 percent live. Apart from The United States it is found in 12 countries. It is also common in Canada, where 3 percent live and Northern Ireland, where 3 percent live.

Killough Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of Killough has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people carrying the Killough surname increased 784 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it increased 750 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it decreased 44 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it decreased 87 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Killough Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those holding the Killough last name is primarily Presbyterian (89%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the Killough surname are 18.26% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than The US average, with 65.03% registered to vote for the political party.

The amount Killough earn in different countries varies marginally. In United States they earn 0.97% less than the national average, earning $42,732 USD per year and in Canada they earn 2.74% less than the national average, earning $48,320 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ASimilarity (high to low)Similarity (low to high)Prevalent jurisdiction A-ZPrevalent jurisdiction Z-A
SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Kiellough940/
Killogh935/
Kllough931/
Killoug930/
Kellough881,419/
Killaugh881/
Cillough880/
Killeugh880/
Killog8622/
Klough861/
Killlaugh820/
Kellogh805/
Killogg802/
Kelloug801/
Klugh77782/
Kloug7725/
Klogh7718/
Kellougt751/
Kelloegh751/
Killeagh750/
Kellaugh750/
Killeigh750/
Clough7126,102/
Kellog71327/
Killok7193/
Klaugh7118/
Klougt7115/
Kloogh7110/
Klogth712/
Khloug711/
Kellug710/
Klug6733,183/
Kellogg6722,327/
Klog67114/
Killock6791/
Chillog6784/
Cleough6729/
Kellagh671/
Kelloeg671/
Kelloyg671/
Chillug671/
Clougth671/
Hkloukh671/
Show All Similar Surnames

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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 Killough
  • 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