O'Callaghan Surname

23,050th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 23,529 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
Ireland
Highest density in:
Ireland

O'Callaghan Surname Definition:

Ó Ceallacháin Mainly Co. Cork: still very numerous there. The chief family was transplanted to Co. Clare. IF 71 etc; Plate III

O'Callaghan Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland9,8451:47873
England5,0671:10,9961,620
Australia4,6001:5,869862
United States1,3021:278,38625,991
Canada6731:54,7486,504
New Zealand6141:7,3751,258
Northern Ireland5791:3,187641
Wales3951:7,834872
Scotland1641:32,6453,260
New Caledonia991:2,790365
Spain911:513,75925,575
South Africa861:629,97347,084
France231:2,887,944200,772
Jamaica151:191,3305,833
Netherlands141:1,206,22770,951
Germany121:6,708,788223,026
Isle of Man101:8,5821,778
Sweden91:1,094,08481,336
United Arab Emirates81:1,145,28440,289
Switzerland71:1,173,27469,697
China61:227,886,92811,701
Panama51:782,45211,059
Venezuela51:6,040,81547,898
Italy51:12,231,338126,430
Malta41:107,5681,849
Portugal41:2,604,56016,079
Croatia31:1,409,53570,997
Jersey31:33,0674,675
Argentina31:14,247,805235,975
Czechia31:3,544,490144,714
Namibia31:803,13415,170
Cayman Islands21:31,9461,715
Turkey21:38,910,711171,901
Indonesia21:66,124,597756,638
Belgium21:5,748,322130,559
Brazil21:107,037,1661,031,150
Finland21:2,748,35172,663
Hong Kong21:3,667,74211,574
Thailand21:35,319,172966,191
Malaysia21:14,747,112316,340
Zimbabwe21:7,719,120118,432
Denmark21:2,822,35876,882
Bulgaria11:6,978,90586,260
Trinidad and Tobago11:1,363,97522,013
Puerto Rico11:3,550,1399,109
Cyprus11:884,87613,055
United States Virgin Islands11:110,3756,934
Vietnam11:92,646,0548,382
Bahamas11:391,7512,737
Andorra11:83,8382,381
Afghanistan11:32,153,18360,828
Norway11:5,142,286129,201
India11:767,065,3821,851,717
Israel11:8,557,634182,558
Greece11:11,079,790145,225
Japan11:127,844,29373,547
Kazakhstan11:17,682,496204,010
Luxembourg11:580,54215,155
Mexico11:124,126,205103,776
Monaco11:37,0664,748
French Polynesia11:280,8057,211
South Korea11:51,240,2568,015
Pakistan11:178,643,885213,220
Philippines11:101,238,223404,861
Hungary11:9,816,27773,288
Saudi Arabia11:30,855,81763,028
Fiji11:894,3914,568
Singapore11:5,507,70347,049
Solomon Islands11:580,02922,243
Estonia11:1,321,80440,178
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland3,4371:1,289245
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England2041:119,48711,415
Scotland171:220,1897,953
Wales111:142,5835,610
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1941:258,85921,305

The alternate forms: Ò'callaghan (1) are calculated separately.

O'Callaghan Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

Ó Ceallacháin Mainly Co. Cork: still very numerous there. The chief family was transplanted to Co. Clare. IF 71 etc; Plate III

A Guide to Irish Names (1964) by Edward MacLysaght

(Celtic) the Irish O’Ceallachain = Descendant of Ceallachan [v. O’-, and Callaghan]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

“Son of Ceallachain” in Erse.

South African Surnames (1965) by Eric Rosenthal

(Irish) Grandson of little Ceallach (war or strife).

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

This ancient family derive their origin and their surname from Ceallachan Cathel, a famous king of Munster in the tenth century. Their territory, according to Mr. D'Alton, was partly in cos. Louth and Mayo, but especially in Cork, where 50,000 acres of laud on both sides of the Blackwater, and hence called Pobble O'Callaghan, were occupied by them.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

O'CALLAGHAN: (Celtic or Gaelic.) The descendants or tribe of Callaghan, from Ciallach, prudent, judicious, discreet.

Ludus Patronymicus (1868) by Richard Stephen Charnock

O'Callaghan Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name O'Callaghan Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name O'Callaghan is carried by more people in Ireland than any other country/territory. It may be rendered in the variant forms: Ò'callaghan. For other possible spellings of O'Callaghan click here.

How Common Is The Last Name O'Callaghan? popularity and diffusion

It is the 23,050th most commonly occurring last name on a worldwide basis, held by approximately 1 in 309,726 people. O'Callaghan occurs predominantly in Europe, where 69 percent of O'Callaghan are found; 68 percent are found in Northern Europe and 68 percent are found in British Isles.

The last name is most numerous in Ireland, where it is carried by 9,845 people, or 1 in 478. In Ireland it is most numerous in: Munster, where 57 percent reside, Leinster, where 29 percent reside and Ulster, where 8 percent reside. Besides Ireland it is found in 69 countries. It is also found in England, where 22 percent reside and Australia, where 20 percent reside.

O'Callaghan Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of O'Callaghan has changed over time. In Ireland the number of people who held the O'Callaghan surname expanded 286 percent between 1901 and 2014; in England it expanded 2,484 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it expanded 671 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Wales it expanded 3,591 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Scotland it expanded 965 percent between 1881 and 2014.

O'Callaghan Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those carrying the O'Callaghan surname is predominantly Catholic (99%) in Ireland.

The amount O'Callaghan earn in different countries varies markedly. In United States they earn 59.89% more than the national average, earning $68,993 USD per year and in Canada they earn 18.55% more than the national average, earning $58,900 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

Search for Another Surname

O'Callaghan Reference & Research

Callahan FamilyTree DNA Group - A group collating DNA test results for those who bear the surname, includes results of DNA tests and discussions.

Callahan FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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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 O'Callaghan
  • 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