Driscoll
An anglicized Irish given name of uncertain meaning, perhaps based on "bright valley".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Driscoll. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Driscoll today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Driscoll births was 2011 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Driscoll. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Driscoll. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2011
5 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2011 SSA rank
#12,808
Tracked since 2011
Popularity
Driscoll: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Driscoll by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Driscoll during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Driscoll
The name Driscoll is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic surname Ó Driscoll, which means "descendant of Driscoll." The name Driscoll itself is a diminutive form of the Irish name Driscán, which means "elder" or "mature." The name can be traced back to the 11th century in Ireland.
The earliest recorded use of the name Driscoll dates back to the 12th century, when it was mentioned in the Annals of Inisfallen, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. The name was particularly common among the Driscoll clan, who were a powerful family in County Cork, Ireland.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Driscoll was Finghin Ó Driscoll, a 13th-century Irish chieftain and Lord of Baltimore, County Cork. He played a significant role in the conflicts between the Irish clans and the Anglo-Norman invaders.
In the 15th century, Donal Cam Ó Driscoll was a prominent member of the Driscoll clan and a skilled navigator. He is credited with being one of the first to establish trade routes between Ireland and Continental Europe.
Another notable figure was Cornelius Driscoll, an Irish soldier who fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was born in 1839 and served as a captain in the 6th Louisiana Infantry Regiment.
In the 19th century, Michael Driscoll was an Irish-American labor leader and activist. Born in 1856, he played a pivotal role in the formation of the International Longshoremen's Association and fought for better working conditions for dock workers.
Lastly, John Driscoll was an American athlete and Olympic medalist. Born in 1891, he won a silver medal in the triple jump at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden.
People
Driscoll + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Driscoll as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Driscoll: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Driscoll?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Driscoll going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Driscoll a common name?
We classify Driscoll as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Driscoll most popular?
The single biggest year for Driscoll was 2011, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Driscoll is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Driscoll in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Driscoll a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Driscoll in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Driscoll still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Driscoll in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Driscoll can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Driscoll as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.