The Kerrigan surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,714 people carried this name — #5,204 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 43,900 people counted. That is up 24% from 5,435 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Kerrigan surname

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Ciaragáin (“grandson/descendant of Ciaragán”), a byname from a double diminutive of ciar (“black”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Kerrigan» (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 41 births for the Kerrigan name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Connacht. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,800 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 4 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name. 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

Connacht 17
Leinster 12
Ulster 11
Munster 1

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

Kerrigan was recorded 18 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1248th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 24. 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

Kerrigan in American newspapers,
1891–1920.

Newspaper page from The Jersey City News carrying the name Kerrigan
The Jersey City News 1891-11-11
Newspaper page from The Salt Lake Herald carrying the name Kerrigan
The Salt Lake Herald 1909-01-03
Newspaper page from Alma Record carrying the name Kerrigan
Alma Record 1920-03-18

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 47,877 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Kerrigan in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

8,448 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kerrigan. The most, 1,589, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 4,058
Victoria 1,698
Queensland 1,216
Western Australia 930
South Australia 286
Tasmania 189
ACT (Canberra) 50
Northern Territory 9

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

Who carried it

People named Kerrigan,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John Kerrigan
    John Kerrigan 1851– · politician
  • Patrick J. Kerrigan
    Patrick J. Kerrigan 1864– · politician
  • Frank Henry Kerrigan
    Frank Henry Kerrigan 1868–1935 · judge
  • Herbert Kerrigan
    Herbert Kerrigan 1879–1959 · athletics competitor
  • J. Warren Kerrigan
    J. Warren Kerrigan 1879–1947 · screenwriter

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 64 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Kerrigan,
in the records of 6 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 States2,365 records

2,365 records of the Kerrigan name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1,182
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 489
  • Other U.S. records 694
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record William F. Kerrigan

    Born 1924 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at New York City; construction laborer from Kings County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1988, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    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 Maggie Kerrigan

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the Baltic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 19; servant. From Longford, Ireland.

    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 Donald Kenneth Kerrigan

    Born 1931; from Woburn, Massachusetts. U.S. Marine Corps; died of wounds 1953 in Korea.

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

Showing 3 of 2,365 records for Kerrigan in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (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).

Australia248 records

248 records of the Kerrigan name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 132
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 37
  • Other Australian records 79
  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 Thomas Kerrigan

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Ann & Amelia, arriving 1825; ticket of leave 1839. Native of Westmeath Co.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Michael Kerrigan

    Arrived in Victoria in 1885 aboard the Iberia, aged 18; Irish.

    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 Christopher J. Kerrigan

    Retired of Hawthorn East, Victoria; died 1947.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 248 records for Kerrigan in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). 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).

Ireland22 records

22 records of the Kerrigan name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Nóra Kerrigan

    Died 1937, aged 75; buried at Lackagh (Old), 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 John Kerrigan

    Died 1937, aged 51; buried at Salrock, 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 Mary Kerrigan

    Died 2001, aged 51; buried at Renvyle, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 22 records for Kerrigan 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).

United Kingdom16 records

16 records of the Kerrigan name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 11
  • Stirling Council burial records 5
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Michael Kerrigan

    Buried in 1888 at Mar Place Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 64.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. Kerrigan

    Royal Dublin Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Kerrigan

    Buried in 1942 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 61.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 16 records for Kerrigan in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · 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).

Canada8 records

8 records of the Kerrigan name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 3
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 2
  • Other Canadian records 3
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Michael Kerrigan

    Died 1925; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  2. 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 Stuart Frederick Kerrigan

    Died in service in 1917.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Charles Kerrigan

    Married 1882 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 8 records for Kerrigan in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

New Zealand2 records

2 records of the Kerrigan name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Eugenia Alice Kerrigan

    Died 1982, aged 92; buried at Waimairi Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Kerrigan

    Died 1937; buried at Waimairi Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Christchurch City 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 Kerrigan.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Kerrigan 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 Kerrigan volume
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