Bulger
An Irish surname of uncertain origin, probably linked to an older Gaelic family name later Anglicized as Bulger or Bolger.
The #9,427 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 89,491 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname is usually treated as an Anglicized Irish name, with Bulger and Bolger used as variant spellings of the same family name. The historical sources here suggest a Gaelic source form, but the exact root is not secure; 19th-century scholars connected it with older Irish names that were rendered into English in different ways. In practice, the name is best understood as an Irish surname whose spelling was stabilized in English as Bulger.
History
The name appears in Irish and Irish-American records under both Bulger and Bolger, with Bulger generally a later or alternate spelling. Because the surviving etymologies in older surname books are not fully consistent, modern reference works usually treat it as an Irish name with an uncertain original Gaelic form. The surname is now found mainly in Ireland and the English-speaking diaspora, especially the United States, Britain, Canada, and Australia.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bulger is one of several Irish surnames whose English spellings shifted enough that close relatives can appear in records as both Bulger and Bolger.
From the historical record
“0 boljuiT^e, 6 t)ol5UiT)i|i, Bolger, Bulger, Boulger. 0 t)|iACAin, Brahan. 0 "biiA-OACAin, Bradican ; Brady. 0 'bf(AX)ACAiri, Bradagan, Bradi- can. 6 t)ttAX)A5AiTi, Bradagan, Brad-”
— Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish names and surnames