Hennessy
A French given name related to the Irish surname of disputed meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 1,575 living Americans carry the first name Hennessy. It is a predominantly female name (96.1% of registrations). The average person named Hennessy today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hennessy births was 2019 (82 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hennessy. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Hennessy with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Hennessy is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 62 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Hennessy is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 15 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 217,622 Americans
Peak year
2019
82 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,524
Tracked since 1991
Census
Hennessy in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,068 people with the first name Hennessy, which placed it at #11,830 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#11,830
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,068 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
73.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hennessy
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hennessy is Hispanic at 73.8%. The next largest groups are White (11.9%) and Black (7.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Hennessy described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Hennessy at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino73.8% · 788
- White11.9% · 127
- Black or African American7.8% · 83
- Two or more races3.3% · 35
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 13
Gender
Gender distribution for Hennessy
Hennessy leans heavily female at 96.1% of total registrations, but 62 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Hennessy as a male name
- Ranked #11,397 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1996 (7 births)
Hennessy as a female name
- Ranked #3,524 in 2024
- 44 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2019 (82 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hennessy leans strongly female. 967 people counted with this name were female (90.9%), compared with 97 male bearers (9.1%).
Popularity
Hennessy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hennessy from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 601 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Hennessy remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hennessy 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 Hennessy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hennessys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Hennessy, while Washington, Nevada, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 117 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hennessy
The given name Hennessy has its origins in the Irish Gaelic language and culture. It is believed to have derived from the old Irish words "Oan" meaning "one" and "Oisin" meaning "young deer" or "fawn". The earliest recorded spelling of the name was Oenghus, which later evolved into Angus and eventually Hennessy.
The name Hennessy has been documented in ancient Irish texts and manuscripts, such as the Annals of Ulster and the Book of Leinster, dating back to the 6th and 12th centuries respectively. These sources suggest that the name was borne by several influential figures in early Irish history, including kings, warriors, and poets.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the name Hennessy was Oenghus Olmucaid, a legendary Irish warrior and king who is said to have lived in the 2nd century AD. Another notable bearer of the name was Oenghus mac Nad Froích, the semi-legendary King of Munster who ruled in the 5th century AD.
In the 12th century, Oenghus Ua Laidgnen was an Irish poet and historian who authored several works, including the Lebor Bretnach (The Irish Celtic Vernacular). During the same period, Oenghus Ó Dálaigh was a renowned Irish poet and Chief Ollamh (head poet) of Ireland.
In more recent times, one of the most famous individuals with the name Hennessy was Richard Hennessy, an Irish soldier and entrepreneur who founded the Hennessy Cognac distillery in France in the late 18th century. Another notable bearer of the name was John Hennessy, an Irish-American politician who served as the 19th Governor of New Hampshire from 1857 to 1859.
Other significant individuals with the given name Hennessy include Hennessy Youngman (1911-1998), an American comedian and actor, and Hennessy Lopes-Baptista (born 1996), a Portuguese professional footballer who currently plays for Paços de Ferreira.
People
Hennessy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hennessy as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hennessy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hennessy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,575 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hennessy 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 217,622 US residents.
Is Hennessy a common name?
We classify Hennessy as "Rare". It ranks above 92.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,593 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hennessy most popular?
The single biggest year for Hennessy was 2019, when 82 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hennessy is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hennessy in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,068 people with the name Hennessy, or 0.35 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,830 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Hennessy in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Hennessy?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hennessy leans strongly female. 967 people counted with this name were female (90.9%), compared with 97 male bearers (9.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Hennessy?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hennessy is Hispanic at 73.8%. The next largest groups are White (11.9%) and Black (7.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Hennessy most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Hennessy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.8% (788 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Hennessy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hennessy a female name?
Yes, 96.1% of people registered as Hennessy in the SSA data are female. 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 Hennessy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hennessy 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 Hennessy 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.
How many people have Hennessy as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Hennessy on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.