A Gallagher child is someone who grew up in what appeared to be a dysfunctional household. This phrase, which has become popular on TikTok and other social media platforms, is inspired by the family of the same name from the American TV show Shameless.
What does it mean to be a ‘Gallagher child’?
As with many trends and memes, the phrase “Gallagher child” was born on social media, namely TikTok, where TikToker Rayne (@ettalovee) shared her realizations about her own life growing up. The phrase is largely used in a light-hearted, self-deprecating manner to talk about a family that is extremely dysfunctional, with TikTokers noting that it meant their friends’ parents didn’t want them coming to visit.
@ettalovee Been unlearning learned behavior for a min now😵💫😆😒 #gallagher#fypage#thursday#yt ♬ original sound – Rayne
The phrase comes from the 2011-2021 American TV show Shameless, which is an adaptation of the British TV show of the same name. The show is about an alcoholic deadbeat dad whose throngs of children are forced to raise themselves without his proper parenting. Their last name is, you guessed it, Gallagher.
While most refer to this as being a Gallagher child, some call it a Gallagher house or even a Roseanne house, in an even further throwback to the classic sitcom of the ‘90s of the eponymous title Roseanne, which also featured a rather dysfunctional family…one could argue that it is a popular, common trend of sitcoms.
Household and personality traits of Gallagher children
“Growing up, I never understood why my friends’ parents would never let them come to my house,” said TikToker Rayne (@ettalovee) in one video she posted about the subject. “We could always go do stuff and I could always go to their house but they could not come to my house. And then I grew up and realized it was ’cause I was a f-cking Gallagher.”
People in the comments section resonated with Rayne’s sentiments, sharing their own experiences with having been Gallagher children while growing up, whether they realized it or not at the time.
One TikToker shared, “I was raise by a whole generation of Gallaghers! I think I was in 7th grade before I realized our houseplants weren’t normal houseplants, thanks to the DARE program! Everyone had those plants 🤷🏻♀️”
“See … my mother thought all my friends were the Gallaghers. But it was us lol,” said a third.
![Screenshot of a brunette woman lounging in her house, staring at the camera as she explains, 'I am a Gallagher. I'm a Gallagher I don't know what to say. I am [a] Gallagher.'](jpg/gallagher-child-meaning-10daa9.jpg)
Other folks shared that while they weren’t from Gallagher houses themselves, they had friends who were, and they always loved going over to their houses because it gave them a chance to break free of the rigid structure of their own homes.
“The ‘Gallagher’ friends’ houses were always the funnest. Especially if you came from a structured household. I never wanted to be home,” wrote one TikToker.
Another person commented, “the Gallagher kids wanted to hang out at my house because it was peaceful and my parents would dote on them. sometimes they would fall asleep 🥺”
A third TikToker chimed in, “Gallagher house was fun to stay over cause we’d stay out but the dirty pillow and lack of breakfast always made me appreciate going home 👍”
