Explore the Family Name Gavigan

The meaning of Gavigan

Irish: 1. (Donegal): from Mag Eachagáin ‘son of Eachagán’, a diminutive of the personal name Eachadh, from each ‘horse’. See McCaughey. 2. alternatively, shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Gáibhtheacháin; see Gavaghan.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Gavigan saw an increase between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked 23,283 and increased to a rank of 22,573 by 2010, signifying a rise in popularity by 3.05%. Similarly, the count of individuals with this surname also rose from 1,021 in 2000 to 1,138 in 2010, marking an upswing of 11.46%. Consequently, the proportion per 100,000 people also saw a modest hike of 2.63% over this decade.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#23,283	#22,573	3.05%
Count	1,021	1,138	11.46%
Proportion per 100k	0.38	0.39	2.63%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Gavigan

Turning our attention to the ethnic identity associated with the Gavigan surname, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals a predominantly White heritage. In 2000, about 96.77% of Gavigans identified as White, although this percentage slightly decreased to 94.46% by 2010. During these years, there were no recorded Gavigans of Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicity. However, it's noteworthy that the Hispanic representation nearly doubled from 2.06% in 2000 to 3.95% in 2010. Moreover, by the year 2010, 0.79% identified as being of two or more races, and 0.44% identified as American Indian and Alaskan Native, both emerging from no previous records in 2000.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.77%	94.46%	-2.39%
Hispanic	2.06%	3.95%	91.75%
Two or More Races	0%	0.79%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0.44%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%