Show ContentsBohan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Bohan surname is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Ó Buadhacháin, which comes from the word "buadhach," meaning "victorious."

Early Origins of the Bohan family

The surname Bohan was first found in County Cork, where Irish Fiants show the earliest records of this surname.

Early History of the Bohan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bohan research. Another 74 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1659 is included under the topic Early Bohan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bohan Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Bohan, O'Bohan, Bohane, Bohannon, Boughan, Bohane, Bowen and many more.

Early Notables of the Bohan family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was

  • Bohane of County Cork

Bohan Ranking

In the United States, the name Bohan is the 13,581st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [1]


United States Bohan migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bohan Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Mary Bohan, who arrived in South Carolina in 1755 [2]
Bohan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Thomas Bohan, who landed in America in 1806 [2]
  • Matthew Bohan, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 [2]
  • James Bohan, who landed in America in 1852 [2]
  • Michael Bohan, who arrived in America in 1854 [2]
  • Lawrence Bohan, who arrived in America in 1854 [2]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Canada Bohan migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bohan Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • John Bohan, aged 15, a farmer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the barque "Independence" from Kinsale, Ireland
  • Catharine Bohan, aged 12, a farmer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the barque "Independence" from Kinsale, Ireland
  • Margaret Bohan, aged 10, a farmer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the barque "Independence" from Kinsale, Ireland
  • Michael Bohan, aged 29, a farmer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the barque "Independence" from Kinsale, Ireland
  • Ellen Bohan, aged 27, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the barque "Independence" from Kinsale, Ireland
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

New Zealand Bohan 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:

Bohan Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Peter Bohan, (b. 1948), aged 28, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Pomona" arriving in Bluff, Southland, South Island, New Zealand on 14th April 1876 [3]

Contemporary Notables of the name Bohan (post 1700) +

  • Thomas Bohan, American politician, Member of Minnesota State House of Representatives 14th District, 1878-80 [4]
  • Owen W. Bohan (b. 1880), American Democratic Party politician, Member of New York State Assembly, 1906-07, 1909 [4]
  • Michael J. Bohan, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Oregon, 1996, 2000, 2004; Presidential Elector for Oregon, 2012 [4]
  • John R. Bohan, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Wisconsin State Senate, 1863-64 [4]
  • Edward Joseph "Eddie" Bohan (1932-2019), Irish politician and member of the Fianna Fáil party
  • Marc Roger Maurice Louis Bohan (1926-2023), French fashion designer, best known for his 30-year career at the house of Dior
  • Daniel Joseph Bohan (1941-2016), Canadian prelate of the Catholic Church, Archbishop of the Regina Archdiocese (2005-2016)
  • Jim Bohan (b. 1919), former Australian rules footballer

RMS Lusitania
  • Mr. James Bohan, Canadian 1st Class Passenger from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking [5]


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. 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)
  3. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 21) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  5. Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/


Houseofnames.com on Facebook