Find out how popular the last name Caffrey is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Caffrey.

Caffrey, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Caffrey surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Caffrey in America

Caffrey is the 10486th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Caffrey surname appeared 3,062 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Caffrey.

We can also compare 2010 data for Caffrey to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Caffrey

The surname Caffrey has its origins in the Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name Ó Cafraigh, which means "descendant of Caffraidh". The name Caffraidh is derived from the Old Irish word "cafter", meaning "wild goat" or "mountain goat".

This surname is believed to have originated in County Tipperary, Ireland, where the Ó Cafraigh clan was based. The earliest recorded mention of the name dates back to the 13th century, appearing in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history.

In the 16th century, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, many Irish names were anglicized to conform to English spelling and pronunciation. This is when the spelling "Caffrey" emerged as a variation of the original Gaelic name Ó Cafraigh.

The Caffrey surname has been found in various historical records throughout Ireland, such as the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, which were legal documents issued by the English administration in Ireland during the 16th and 17th centuries.

One notable bearer of the Caffrey name was Seán Ó Cafraigh, a 17th-century Irish poet and historian from County Tipperary, who wrote extensively about the history and genealogy of his clan.

Another prominent figure was Reverend James Caffrey (1736-1810), an Irish Catholic priest and educator who founded several schools in County Louth, Ireland, during the Penal Laws era when Catholic education was heavily restricted.

In the 19th century, John Caffrey (1817-1906) was an Irish-born lawyer and politician who served as a member of the New Zealand Parliament, representing the Waikato electorate.

The Caffrey surname also has a notable connection to the American Civil War, with John Caffrey (1832-1904) serving as a Union Army officer and receiving the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Fredericksburg in 1862.

In more recent times, Sir Benjamin Caffrey (1892-1974) was a British architect and town planner who played a significant role in the reconstruction efforts in London after World War II.

These examples showcase the historical significance and widespread distribution of the Caffrey surname, which has been carried by individuals from various walks of life throughout the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Caffrey

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Caffrey.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Caffrey was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Caffrey has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Caffrey was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Caffrey, please contact us.

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