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

Cahill, 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 Cahill surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cahill in America

Cahill is the 1737th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cahill surname appeared 20,623 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Cahill.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cahill 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 Cahill

The surname Cahill originated in Ireland, deriving from the Irish Gaelic "O'Cathail" or "O'Cathail." This name can be traced back to the 10th century and is believed to have originated in County Tipperary, where it was most prevalent. The prefix "O'" indicates a descendant of the root name, which in this case is "Cathail," an Irish personal name meaning "brave in battle."

In early Irish records, the name was often anglicized as "O'Cahill" or "O'Caughil." These variations in spelling were common due to the translation of Gaelic names into English. The earliest documented reference to the Cahill name can be found in the Annals of Inisfallen, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the late 12th century.

Throughout the centuries, the Cahill surname has been associated with several notable individuals. One prominent figure was Conor O'Cahill, a 16th-century Irish chieftain and leader of the O'Cahill clan in County Tipperary. Another was Daniel William Cahill (1775-1864), an Irish-American entrepreneur and one of the founders of the city of Brooklyn, New York.

In the literary world, the name gained recognition through James Cahill (1926-2014), an American art historian and scholar of Chinese and Japanese art. Additionally, Patrick Cahill (1925-2015) was an acclaimed American actor known for his roles in films such as "The Untouchables" and "Miller's Crossing."

The Cahill surname has also been associated with religious figures, including Reverend Thaddeus Cahill (1867-1934), an Irish-American physicist and inventor of the Telharmonium, an early electronic music synthesizer. Another notable bearer of the name was Father Patrick Cahill (1890-1959), an Irish priest and author who wrote extensively on Irish history and culture.

Over time, the Cahill surname has spread beyond Ireland and can be found in various parts of the world, particularly in countries with significant Irish diaspora populations, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cahill

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

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 Cahill 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 Cahill 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 Cahill was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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