Meaning, Origin & Family History (2024)

The meaning of Logan

1. Scottish and northern Irish: habitational name from Logan (Ayrshire) or from some other minor place of this name. 2. Irish: from Ó Leocháin ‘descendant of Leochán’, a personal name (earlier spelled Lothchán) of unexplained etymology. See also Duck. History: James Logan (1674–1751), an Ulster Scot and a Quaker, born in Lurgan, County Armagh, Ireland, became secretary to William Penn and held high office in the state of PA. Among his descendants have been numbered several prominent statesmen. KY pioneer Benjamin Logan moved with his parents from West Pennsborough Township, Cumberland County, PA, to Augusta County, VA, in 1740.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Logan in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Logan has seen a slight decrease in its popularity from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it was ranked as the 465th most popular surname, but dropped to the 492nd position in 2010 - a change of -5.81%. However, despite this drop in rank, the overall count of persons carrying the Logan surname increased by 5.16% during the same period. This indicates an increase from 64,576 individuals in 2000 to 67,909 individuals in 2010. The proportion of people with the Logan name per 100,000 population saw a decrease of -3.84%, going from 23.94 in 2000 to 23.02 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#465	#492	-5.81%
Count	64,576	67,909	5.16%
Proportion per 100k	23.94	23.02	-3.84%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Logan

Shifting to ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows that the Logan surname is predominantly associated with the White ethnic identity, although it had a slight decrease from 67.08% in 2000 to 64.80% in 2010. The second largest ethnic group with the Logan surname is Black, which saw a minor increase from 27.10% in 2000 to 27.30% in 2010. Other ethnic groups also showed growth in the same time frame, with the Hispanic group increasing by 49.30% and those identifying with two or more races growing by 40.98%. The Asian/Pacific Islander group also increased by 26.79%, while the American Indian and Alaskan Native group grew by 1.89%. The data does not reveal any significant shifts in the ethnic identity associated with the Logan surname over the decade.

	2000	2010	Change
White	67.08%	64.8%	-3.4%
Black	27.1%	27.3%	0.74%
Hispanic	2.15%	3.21%	49.3%
Two or More Races	2.05%	2.89%	40.98%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	1.06%	1.08%	1.89%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.56%	0.71%	26.79%

Logan ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Logan is British & Irish, which comprises 52.9% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (18.9%) and Eastern European (4.0%). Additional ancestries include Nigerian, Scandinavian, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, and Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN	COMPOSITION
British & Irish	52.9%
French & German	18.9%
Eastern European	4.0%
Other	24.2%

Possible origins of the surname Logan

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Logan have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY Location	Percentage
Greater London, United Kingdom	81.60%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom	81.30%
Glasgow City, United Kingdom	81.20%
Merseyside, United Kingdom	81.10%
West Midlands, United Kingdom	80.90%

What Logan haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Logan is R-CTS241, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-CTS241 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include R-L21 and R-P311, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Jones, Morgan, Oliver, Davies, Lloyd, Phillips, Griffith, Lewis, Cameron, Hopkins.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Logan surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

Paternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.

What do people with the surname Logan have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Logan" Surname 43.3%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Vanilla Ice Cream

Prefers vanilla flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Logan" Surname 35.8%

23andMe Users 36.7%

Like Very Cold Weather

Enjoys weather that is colder than 40 degrees Farenheit

"Logan" Surname 24.5%

23andMe Users 24.8%

Likes Sweets

Enjoys eating sweets more than other people.

"Logan" Surname 31.6%

23andMe Users 33.8%

Stawberry Ice Cream

Prefers strawberry flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Logan" Surname 14.6%

23andMe Users 14.7%

Likes Hoppy Beer

Like beer that has a strong hop flavor and aroma.

"Logan" Surname 20.5%

23andMe Users 20.0%

Likes Boiled Eggs

Likes the taste of hard-boiled eggs.

"Logan" Surname 75.9%

23andMe Users 70.2%

Vegetarian

Abstains from consuming meat, fish, and poultry, and typically follows a plant-based diet.

"Logan" Surname 3.2%

23andMe Users 3.6%