Explore the Family Name Gargan

The meaning of Gargan

Irish (Meath): shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Geargáin ‘descendant of Geargán’ or shortened from Mac Geargáin ‘son of Geargán’, a personal name from a diminutive of garg ‘fierce’.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Gargan in the United States?

According to the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Gargan experienced a decline between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Gargan held the rank of 33,605 among all surnames, with an estimated 640 bearers in the United States. By 2010, however, it had dropped to the 39,837th most popular surname, with only 551 bearers. This represented a decrease of 18.54% in ranking and a 13.91% reduction in count. The proportion per 100,000 people also decreased by 20.83% from 0.24 in 2000 to 0.19 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#33,605	#39,837	-18.54%
Count	640	551	-13.91%
Proportion per 100k	0.24	0.19	-20.83%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Gargan

In terms of ethnic identity, the majority of individuals with the Gargan surname identified as White in both 2000 and 2010, but there was a slight decrease of 1.86% over these years, from 96.72% to 94.92%. The Hispanic representation in this group saw an increase, rising from 2.03% in 2000 to 3.63% in 2010, a substantial change of 78.82%. The Decennial U.S. Census data does not indicate any individuals with the Gargan surname identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either 2000 or 2010. Those identifying with two or more races were reported in 2000 at 0.78%, but this figure was suppressed for 2010 due to privacy concerns.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.72%	94.92%	-1.86%
Hispanic	2.03%	3.63%	78.82%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	0.78%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%