NameCensus.

UK surname

Galligan

An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic Ó Gallachóin, meaning "descendant of Gallchobhair," a personal name meaning "foreign helper."

In the 1881 census there were 141 people recorded with the Galligan surname, ranking it #16,091 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 462, ranked #10,607, up from #16,091 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Edinburgh, Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry and Liverpool. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include West Lancashire, Lochee and Bolton.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Galligan is 472 in 1998. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 227.7%.

1881 census count

141

Ranked #16,091

Modern count

462

2016, ranked #10,607

Peak year

1998

472 bearers

Map years

7

1861 to 2016

Key insights

  • Galligan had 141 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #16,091 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 462 in 2016, ranked #10,607.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 141 in 1881.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Small Town Suburbia.

Galligan surname distribution map

The map shows where the Galligan surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Galligan surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Galligan over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 53 #23,739
1861 historical 113 #19,151
1881 historical 141 #16,091
1891 historical 116 #21,766
1901 historical 106 #22,076
1911 historical 51 #27,708
1997 modern 450 #10,075
1998 modern 472 #10,032
1999 modern 445 #10,535
2000 modern 419 #11,028
2001 modern 419 #10,835
2002 modern 430 #10,840
2003 modern 410 #11,061
2004 modern 405 #11,177
2005 modern 401 #11,165
2006 modern 403 #11,187
2007 modern 424 #10,867
2008 modern 429 #10,850
2009 modern 442 #10,844
2010 modern 455 #10,802
2011 modern 455 #10,691
2012 modern 444 #10,775
2013 modern 452 #10,795
2014 modern 464 #10,645
2015 modern 466 #10,552
2016 modern 462 #10,607

Geography

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Where Galligans are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Edinburgh, Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry, Liverpool, Glasgow and Ormskirk. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to West Lancashire, Lochee, Bolton and Downfield. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Edinburgh Edinburgh
2 Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry Forfar
3 Liverpool Lancashire
4 Glasgow Lanark
5 Ormskirk Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 West Lancashire 011 West Lancashire
2 Lochee Dundee City
3 Bolton 010 Bolton
4 West Lancashire 007 West Lancashire
5 Downfield Dundee City

Forenames

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First names often paired with Galligan

These lists show first names that appear often with the Galligan surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Galligan

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Galligan, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Retired Professionals

Group

Small Town Suburbia

Nationally, the Galligan surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Small Town Suburbia, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Galligan household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group is predominantly comprised of married couples with no resident dependent children, living in areas characterised neither by under-occupancy nor overcrowding throughout the UK in or adjacent to small towns. White ethnic groups and affiliation with Christianity predominates. Housing tends to be predominantly semi-detached or detached and workers are employed principally in managerial and professional occupations, with semi-skilled occupations also in evidence. These areas of the Supergroup are of higher population density.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Galligan is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Galligan is most concentrated in decile 10 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Galligan falls in decile 4 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

4
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Galligan is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - Irish

This describes the area pattern most associated with Galligan, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Galligan

The surname Galligan has its origins in Ireland, where it first appeared in the late 16th or early 17th century. The name is believed to be a variant of the Irish Gaelic name Ó Gallchobhair, which means "descendant of Gallchobhair." Gallchobhair is a personal name derived from the Gaelic words "gall," meaning "foreigner" or "stranger," and "cobhair," meaning "help" or "aid."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Galligan surname can be found in the Fiants of the Reign of Elizabeth I, a collection of Irish government records from the late 16th century. The name is also mentioned in various land and tax records from the 17th and 18th centuries in counties such as Mayo, Sligo, and Roscommon.

The Galligan surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest recorded examples is Terence Galligan (c. 1640-1720), an Irish Catholic priest and historian who wrote extensively about the Irish Confederate Wars of the 1640s.

Another prominent figure was John Galligan (1829-1904), an Irish-born Australian politician who served as a member of the Victorian Legislative Council and was instrumental in the establishment of the Catholic Diocese of Ballarat.

In the United States, Michael J. Galligan (1847-1916) was a notable figure who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and as a judge in Milwaukee County. Additionally, Cornelius Galligan (1840-1908) was an Irish-American politician who served as a member of the New York State Assembly and as the first Roman Catholic Sheriff of New York County.

The Galligan surname has also been associated with several place names in Ireland, including Galligan's Cross in County Mayo and Galligan's Hill in County Roscommon. These place names likely originated from families or individuals bearing the Galligan surname who lived or owned land in those areas.

Throughout its history, the Galligan surname has undergone various spelling variations, such as Galigan, Gallegan, and Gallighan, reflecting regional dialects and the evolution of language over time.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Galligan families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Galligan surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Lancashire leads with 49 Galligans recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.05x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 49 3.05x
Angus 29 23.09x
Yorkshire 23 1.71x
Midlothian 13 7.16x
Roxburghshire 8 32.57x
Lanarkshire 6 1.37x
Surrey 5 0.76x
Cheshire 1 0.33x
Durham 1 0.25x
Middlesex 1 0.07x
Royal Navy 1 6.19x
Selkirkshire 1 8.15x
Staffordshire 1 0.22x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Liff Benvie in Angus leads with 22 Galligans recorded in 1881 and an index of 115.36x.

Place Total Index
Liff Benvie 22 115.36x
Liverpool 12 12.28x
Bowden 8 2222.22x
Barrow In Furness 7 31.99x
Dundee 7 14.93x
Linthorpe 7 87.28x
Holbeck 6 67.42x
Aughton 5 314.47x
Formby 5 274.73x
Holy Trinity 5 15.47x
Camberwell 4 4.62x
New Monkland 4 30.86x
Newton In Makerfield 4 81.14x
Ormskirk 4 129.87x
South Leith 4 19.57x
Toxteth Park 4 7.34x
Edinburgh Canongate 3 64.94x
Colinton 2 98.52x
Currie 2 180.18x
Edinburgh St Marys 2 56.66x
Handsworth 2 56.34x
Bootle Cum Linacre 1 7.82x
Chester St Oswald 1 18.45x
Denton 1 28.01x
Gomersal 1 15.95x
Hammersmith London 1 2.99x
Kirkhope 1 400.00x
Leeds 1 1.32x
Manchester 1 1.38x
Newton 1 8.06x
Old Monkland 1 5.75x
Rainford 1 57.47x
Rotherhithe 1 5.97x
Sheffield 1 2.34x
Shettleston 1 25.45x
Spotland 1 5.59x
Uttoxeter 1 42.74x
Walton On Hill 1 11.47x
West Auckland 1 68.03x
Wigan 1 4.45x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Galligan surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 12
Margaret 6
Catherine 4
Ann 2
Cathrine 2
Jane 2
Louisa 2
Rose 2
Annie 1
Betsy 1
Elizabeth 1
Helen 1
James 1
Margt. 1
Maria 1
Rebecca 1
Susana 1
Winifred 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Galligan surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Galligan households.

FAQ

Galligan surname: questions and answers

How common was the Galligan surname in 1881?

In 1881, 141 people were recorded with the Galligan surname. That placed it at #16,091 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Galligan surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 462 in 2016. That gives Galligan a modern rank of #10,607.

What does the Galligan surname mean?

An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic Ó Gallachóin, meaning "descendant of Gallchobhair," a personal name meaning "foreign helper."

What does the Galligan map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Galligan bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.