{"id":600,"date":"2023-07-31T18:06:26","date_gmt":"2023-07-31T18:06:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exploreirishancestry.com\/whelan-as-an-irish-last-name\/"},"modified":"2023-07-31T18:08:04","modified_gmt":"2023-07-31T18:08:04","slug":"whelan-as-an-irish-last-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exploreirishancestry.com\/whelan-as-an-irish-last-name\/","title":{"rendered":"Whelan As An Irish Last Name"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article looks at how common Whelan is as a last name in Ireland and the United States from the 19th century to the present day.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll learn the meaning and origins of the Whelan surname while exploring some notable and famous people that held it. <\/p>\n

I use census records, emigration lists, and military archives to uncover fascinating patterns. If you\u2019re studying your genealogy, check out my sources at the end of the post so you can do your own research.<\/p>\n

How Common Is Whelan As A Surname In Ireland?<\/H2><\/p>\n

Ireland does not disclose current statistics on surnames in much detail. The most that we get is the top ten last names in birth registrations for the previous year. Whelan <\/p>\n

However, an Irish genealogist studied the top one hundred surname numbers in Ireland between 1992 and 1997. Se\u00e1n Murphy based his research on telephone books. This isn\u2019t as accurate as a census but gives a good approximation. <\/p>\n

Whelan was ranked 33 in the top one hundred names in this decade with a total of 17,700 entries. <\/p>\n

This graphic shows how it ranks compared to the 1st, 33rd, 66th, and 100th entries in the survey: <\/p>\n

\"Whelan
\n

Whelan In The Early 1900s<\/H2><\/p>\n

Only the full censuses from 1911 and 1901 in Ireland are available to the public. Earlier decades were either destroyed by the government (to make room for more storage) or by a huge fire during the Irish Civil War. Later decades are unavailable under privacy laws. <\/p>\n

Some records exist from earlier censuses, but most of the documents are lost to history. So, we\u2019ll focus on the turn of the century. <\/p>\n

I used online archives to calculate the total numbers by surname. I consider these estimates due to some percentage of transcription errors. So, I\u2019ve rounded the numbers to the nearest fifty. <\/p>\n

There were 5,950 residents named Whelan on the island in 1911. <\/strong> <\/p>\n

Ten years earlier, Whelan had about 8,150 residents in the 1901 census. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Population Estimates In The 1890s<\/H2><\/p>\n

A study of Irish surnames was conducted in 1890 by the head of the Civil Registrations Office. It was published as a \u201cSpecial Report on Surnames In Ireland.\u201d <\/p>\n

The survey estimated that there were about 9,500 people named Whelan in the country. <\/strong> <\/p>\n

Emigration To America After The Irish Famine<\/H2><\/p>\n

The Irish have traditionally emigrated to Britain, the U.S., Canada, and Australia in recent centuries. They were driven by various factors like political upheaval, scarcity of work, and food deprivation. <\/p>\n

The largest wave of emigration to the United States occurred during the 19th century. The peak was in response to the Great Irish Famine, which took place between 1845 and 1852. A plant disease devastated the main food and income crop for much of the population. <\/p>\n

I reviewed the Whelan name in the shipping passenger lists arriving in New York during this period. The departures were from both Ireland and England. <\/p>\n

This picture shows how the numbers rose and fell in the years after the famine: <\/p>\n

\"Whelan
\n

How Common Is Whelan As A Last Name In The U.S.? <\/H2><\/p>\n

Based on the 2010 U.S. census, the name Whelan ranks about 3,974 among Irish names in America with 11,363 bearers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although the 2010 census has exact numbers and rankings, the rank I assign here is my estimate. If you\u2019re curious about how I got there, here\u2019s a brief explanation\u2026<\/p>\n

Estimating Rank In The United States<\/H3><\/p>\n

Historically, some Irish families with Gaelic surnames took English-sounding names as translations under the influence of colonization. <\/p>\n

As these names also have English origins, they will have been brought to the United States by both British and Irish immigrants. Because the census doesn\u2019t ask about specific European origin (e.g. England vs Ireland), it\u2019s impossible to identify the proportion with Irish heritage. <\/p>\n

I reviewed the census to identify which names are predominantly Irish in origin. In order to estimate the relative rankings of \u201cIrish\u201d names, I\u2019ve mostly excluded surnames that have varying origins. <\/p>\n

Whelan In Historic Times<\/H3><\/p>\n

In a country as young as the United States, tracking the popularity of a surname over time can be fascinating. This reflects other demographic shifts across the country in addition to immigration. Higher child mortality rates and longer life expectancy are just two factors.<\/p>\n

The historic census records have been transcribed and digitized. I used online archives to run counts of surname populations. <\/p>\n

But the totals can\u2019t be exactly accurate due to transcription errors. So, I\u2019ve rounded the numbers to the nearest 50 in the graph below. <\/p>\n

This picture shows the numbers every twenty years from 1860 to 1940: <\/p>\n

\"how<\/p>\n

These are the numbers in the graph: <\/p>\n