Callaghan
An Irish surname from the old Gaelic personal name Ceallachán, associated with the descendants of a man called Callaghan.
The #5,614 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 49,870 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Callaghan comes from the Irish Gaelic surname Ó Ceallacháin, meaning “descendant of Ceallachán.” The personal name Ceallachán is usually treated as a diminutive of Ceallach, though older writers proposed other explanations for related forms. In English spelling, the name often appears as Callaghan, Callahan, or Calaghan.
History
The name is strongly associated with Ireland and has long been borne by prominent Irish families, especially in Munster. In 19th- and early 20th-century records, the form often varied between O'Callaghan and shortened spellings such as Callaghan and Callahan. It remains a common Irish surname in Ireland and among Irish diaspora communities.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Nineteenth-century surname studies show both the full Irish form with O' and the anglicized form without it in everyday use.
From the historical record
“ceorl, a man. Ferguson. Calle. H.R. CALLAGHAN. CALLAHAN. The Irish O'Callaghan, CALLANDER. CALLENDER. A kind of lark was so called ; but a likelier deriva- tion is from calenderer, a pressor of cloth — a trade still existing. " I am a linen-draper bold, As all the world dotli luiow, And my good friend, the Calender,”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Callaghan
- James Callaghan (1912–2005)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.