The Carnahan surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,424 people carried this name — #4,769 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 39,700 people counted. That is up 3% from 7,177 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Carnahan surname

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Cearnacháin (“descendant of Cearnachán”), a personal name from cearnach (“victorious”) + -án (“diminutive suffix”).

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

In the first U.S. census, 1790

16 families named Carnahan, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 106 people lived in those households, 6.6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 5 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 14
Maryland 2

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 233 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Carnahan in American newspapers,
1911–1925.

Newspaper page from The Kevin Review carrying the name Carnahan
The Kevin Review 1925-09-24
Newspaper page from The Colfax Chronicle carrying the name Carnahan
The Colfax Chronicle 1915-02-27
Newspaper page from Evening Star carrying the name Carnahan
Evening Star 1911-03-19

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 27,286 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Carnahan in Australian newspapers,
1890s–1980s.

73 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Carnahan. The most, 26, date from the 1950s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 19
Victoria 12
ACT (Canberra) 9
Queensland 9
Western Australia 8
Tasmania 7
South Australia 6

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

Who carried it

People named Carnahan,
with a public archive behind them.

  • James Carnahan
    James Carnahan 1775–1859 · cleric
  • H. L. Carnahan
    H. L. Carnahan 1879–1941 · lawyer
  • A. S. J. Carnahan
    A. S. J. Carnahan 1897–1968 · teacher
  • A. S. J. Carnahan
    A. S. J. Carnahan 1897–1968 · teacher
  • James Richards Carnahan 1840–1905 · writer
  • John Gray Carnahan 1859–1952 · writer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Carnahan,
in the records of 3 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 States440 records

440 records of the Carnahan name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 270
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 97
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 26
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 22
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 15
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 3
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Stephen Michael Carnahan

    Born 1948; from Albuquerque, New Mexico. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; died of wounds 1967 in Quang Tin, South Vietnam. Buried at Santa Fe National Cemetery, New Mexico.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Richard D. Carnahan

    Born 1905. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Macarthur San Pedro, California; janitor. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1945, buried at Los Angeles National Cemetery, California.

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

    Arrived at New York in 1851 aboard the Harriet Augusta from Liverpool, aged 27; laborer. From Great Britain.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 440 records for Carnahan in the United States.

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

Australia13 records

13 records of the Carnahan name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 5
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 4
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 2
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Marion Carnahan

    Arrived in Queensland in 1885 aboard the New Guinea, aged 28.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Peter Carnahan

    Retired tile worker of Oakleigh, Victoria; died 1967.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record John Henry Carnahan

    Born 1890 in Strahan, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Carnahan in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada3 records

3 records of the Carnahan name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  • City of Waterloo (Ontario) cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Esther Carnahan

    Buried in 1988 at Parkview Cemetery, Waterloo, Ontario.

    Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record James Burton Carnahan

    Died 1963 in Halifax, 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 John Thomas Carnahan

    Died in service in 1917.

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

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Carnahan.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Carnahan 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.

See the Carnahan volume
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