The Brogan surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,754 people carried this name — #4,577 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 38,000 people counted. That is up 5% from 7,362 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Brogan surname

Anglicized form of Irish Ó Brógáin (“descendants of Brógán”), probably from a diminutive of bróg (“shoe”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Brogan» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 33 births for the Brogan name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,500 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Mayo and Donegal.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 16
Connacht 10
Leinster 5
Munster 2

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Scotland’s registers today

Brogan was recorded 29 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 845th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 50. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In print

Brogan in American newspapers,
1899–1917.

Newspaper page from The Ontario Argus carrying the name Brogan
The Ontario Argus 1917-07-12
Newspaper page from The Dalles Daily Chronicle carrying the name Brogan
The Dalles Daily Chronicle 1899-02-21
Newspaper page from Daily Capital Journal carrying the name Brogan
Daily Capital Journal 1909-07-02

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 110,569 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Brogan in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

7,291 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Brogan. The most, 1,410, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in the Northern Territory, at 10.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 3,945
South Australia 1,653
Victoria 774
Western Australia 250
ACT (Canberra) 235
Queensland 230
Northern Territory 126
Tasmania 46

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Brogan.

Who carried it

People named Brogan,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Mike Brogan d. 2008 · writer
  • James Brogan 1834–1908 · military personnel
  • James Brogan 1865–1951 · association football player
  • James Brogan 1865–1951 · association football player
  • John Brogan 1878–1928 · bagpiper
  • Joseph Brogan 1880–1940 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Brogan,
in the records of 7 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States2,074 records

2,074 records of the Brogan name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 670
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 607
  • Other U.S. records 797
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Cornelius E. Brogan

    Born 1906 in Pennsylvania. Enlisted 1942 at Philadelphia; accountant from Philadelphia County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1948, buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Lansdowne, Pennsylvania.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Rheresa Brogan

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Furnessia from Glasgow, aged 18; servant. From Donegal, Ireland; bound for Philadelphia.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Robert Henry Brogan

    Born 1950; from Cincinnati, Ohio. U.S. Marine Corps, mortarman; killed in action 1969 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 2,074 records for Brogan in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia263 records

263 records of the Brogan name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 136
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 35
  • Other Australian records 92
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record John Brogan

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Kinnear, sailing from Dublin in 1842. Native of Kings. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1847.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Francis Brogan

    Arrived in Victoria in 1885 aboard the Iberia, aged 25; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Edward Brogan

    Retired public servant of Parkdale, Victoria; died 1964.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 263 records for Brogan in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada57 records

57 records of the Brogan name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 45
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 4
  • Other Canadian records 8
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Thelma Brogan

    Buried in 1990 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 87.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Lucy Ellen Brogan

    Died 1932 in Sydney Mines, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Thomas Shand Brogan

    Died in service in 1916.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 57 records for Brogan in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom13 records

13 records of the Brogan name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 10
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 2
  • Stirling Council burial records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Catherine Brogan

    Buried in 1942 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 79.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Bridget Brogan

    Buried in 1823 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 28.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record C. Brogan

    Machine Gun Guards. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Brogan in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Ireland8 records

8 records of the Brogan name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Eileen Brogan

    Died 1993, aged 56; buried at Kilgevrin/Liskeavy, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Bridget Brogan

    Died 1954; buried at Dunmore, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Thomas Joseph Brogan

    Died 1963; buried at Dunmore, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Brogan in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands4 records

4 records of the Brogan name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 3
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Margareth Jane Brogan

    In the population register of Dublin (Irl); nun, born 1867 in Dublin (Irl).

    Open Archives, West Brabants Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Andre Brogan

    Died 1811 in Breda.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Margereth Jane Brogan

    In the population register of Dublin Ierl; nun, born 1867 in Dublin Ierl.

    Open Archives, West Brabants Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 4 records for Brogan in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

New Zealand1 record

1 record of the Brogan name in New Zealand Marlborough District cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Margaret Russel Wallace Brogan

    Died 1996, aged 71; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Brogan.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Brogan is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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