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Callaghan History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Callaghan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Etymology of Callaghan

What does the name Callaghan mean?

Before Irish names were translated into English, Callaghan had a Gaelic form of Ó Ceallachain, possibly from "ceallach", which means "strife". The family is descended from Ceallachan (Callaghan), the 10th century King of Munster from whom their surname is derived, and as such, the name Callaghan is a patronymic name. 1

Early Origins of the Callaghan family

The surname Callaghan was first found in Munster. The earliest mention of the name Callaghan placed them in the barony of Kinlea, in County Cork, yet the family lost most of their original lands in the barony of Kinelea during the Anglo-Norman Conquest under Strongbow. They relocated to an area near Mallow, in the north of the county, and remained there until forced off their lands once again during the Cromwellian Invasion of the 17th century.

The head family migrated to the east of County Clare and flourished, giving their name to the village of Callaghan's Mills. The resumption of the often-discarded prefix "O" has been widespread during the late twentieth century, but in the early twentieth century, Callaghans greatly outnumbered O'Callaghans, but such is no longer the case. The O'Callaghans are one of the few Irish families to still have a chief, certified by the Genealogical Office. 2

Early History of the Callaghan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Callaghan research. Another 202 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1605, 1640, 1654, 1738, 1797, 1807, 1839, 1883 and 1909 are included under the topic Early Callaghan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Callaghan Spelling Variations

Within archives, many different spelling variations exist for the surname Callaghan. Ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in the name of the single person being recorded under several different spellings. Different spellings that were found include Callaghan, Callahan, O'Callaghan, O'Callahan, Calahan, Cellaghan, Kalahan, Kallaghan, Kallahan, O'Kallaghan, Kellaghan, Kelleghan, Kellahan, Kelahan, Ceilahan, Ceilaghan, Callachan, Calachan, Callagan, Calagan, Kelagan, Callighan and many more.

Early Notables of the Callaghan family

Notable among the family name at this time was

Father Richard Callaghan (1738-1807), Jesuit educationist
Edmund Callaghan (1797-1883), Irish historian
Abbé John O'Callaghan (1605-1654), prominent Jansenist in France

Callaghan World Ranking

In the United States, the name Callaghan is the 4,560^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 3 However, in Australia, the name Callaghan is ranked the 646^th most popular surname with an estimated 6,027 people with that name. 4 And in New Zealand, the name Callaghan is the 666^th popular surname with an estimated 1,059 people with that name. 5 The United Kingdom ranks Callaghan as 640^th with 10,288 people. 6

Callaghan migration to the United States +

North America accepted thousands of Irish immigrants during the 19th century as their homeland suffered under foreign imperialistic rule. Although settlers from the early portion of the century came to North America by choice in search of land, by far the largest influx of Irish immigrants came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Many of these Irish families left the country destitute and in some cases suffering from disease. However, those who survived the long ocean voyage were especially vital to the development of industry in the United States and what would become known as Canada. Research of immigration and passenger lists has shown many early immigrants bearing the name Callaghan:

Callaghan Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Turance Callaghan, who arrived in Virginia in 1715 7
John Callaghan, who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1764
James Callaghan who settled in America in 1768
James Callaghan, who settled in Pennsylvania in 1772
Mathew Callaghan, who arrived in New York in 1796 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Callaghan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Anthony Callaghan, aged 17, who arrived in New York, NY in 1801 7
Jeremiah Callaghan, who landed in New York in 1801 7
Neal Callaghan, aged 19, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1803 7
Mary Callaghan, aged 14, who landed in Charlestown, Massachusetts in 1803 7
Nicholas Callaghan, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1811 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Callaghan migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Callaghan Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

James Callaghan, who arrived in Halifax or New York in 1816
Martin Callaghan, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1816
Michael Callaghan, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1832
Con. Callaghan, aged 30, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the barque "Pallas" from Cork, Ireland
Peggy Callaghan, aged 30, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the barque "Pallas" from Cork, Ireland
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Callaghan migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Callaghan Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Darby Callaghan, Irish convict who was convicted in Tipperary, Ireland for life, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 29th November 1801, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
Mr. Michael Callaghan, Hoolahan, Houlahan, Wholohan),, (b. 1786), aged 16, Irish labourer who was convicted in Limerick, Ireland for lif, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 30th May 1802, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1836 8
Mr. Jeremiah Callaghan, Irish convict who was convicted in County Cork, Ireland for life, transported aboard the "Boyd" on 10th March 1809, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Mr. Cornelius Callaghan, English convict who was convicted in London, England for life, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 16th January 1816, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
Mr. James Callaghan, (b. 1802), aged 18, Irish tobacco spinner who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years for house robbery, transported aboard the "Dorothy" on 5th May 1820, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Callaghan migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Callaghan Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

James Callaghan, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1842 aboard the ship Anna Watson
Mr. William Callaghan, (b. 1824), aged 35, British agricultural labourer travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Regina" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 4th December 1859 11
Mrs. Sarah Callaghan, (b. 1827), aged 32, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Regina" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 4th December 1859 11
Mr. John Callaghan, (b. 1860), aged 4 months, Irish settler from County Cork travelling from Bristol aboard the ship "William Miles" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 21st August 1860 11
Mr. Patrick Callaghan, (b. 1835), aged 25, Irish farm labourer from County Cork travelling from Bristol aboard the ship "William Miles" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 21st August 1860 11
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Callaghan (post 1700) +

Rear Admiral Daniel Judson Callaghan (1890-1942), United States Navy officer awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, eponym of the USS Callaghan (DD-792), a Fletcher-class destroyer
Sheila Callaghan (b. 1973), American playwright
John T. Callaghan, American politician, Candidate for Presidential Elector for Vermont, 1932 12
James J. Callaghan, American politician, Member of California State Assembly, 1883-85, 1887-89 12
J. P. Callaghan, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 1920 12
J. Christopher Callaghan, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from New York, 2008 12
Elizabeth M. Callaghan, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from New York, 2008 12
Charles E. Callaghan, American Republican politician, Postmaster at Rochester, Minnesota, 1898-1911 12
Bryan V. Callaghan Jr., American politician, Mayor of San Antonio, Texas, 1885-92, 1897-99, 1905-12 12
Bryan Callaghan, American politician, Mayor of San Antonio, Texas, 1846-47 12
... (Another 16 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Callaghan family +

HMS Repulse

Mr. George Callaghan, British Cook, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking 13

USS Arizona

Mr. James Thomas Callaghan, American Boatswain's Mate Second Class from Colorado, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 14

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 27th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/Boyd
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dorothy
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 16) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html