2000
#2,744
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,066
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.47
Uncommon Last name
Clancy
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Fhlannchaidh," meaning "son of Flannchadh" (a personal name meaning "red warrior").
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,725 Americans carry the last name Clancy. That puts it at #2,942 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 24,973 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Clancy surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Clancy with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
14K
1 in 24,973
Census rank
#2,942
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,969 bearers of the surname Clancy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2942nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Clancy, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Clancy
The surname Clancy is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic name O'Cleirigh, which means "descendant of the cleric." It is believed to have originated in County Clare, Ireland, in the early medieval period.
The Clancy name is first recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters, a historical chronicle of medieval Irish history, which dates back to the 12th century. The annals mention several members of the Clancy family, who were prominent scholars and scribes.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Clancy surname was Domhnall O'Cleirigh, a renowned Irish poet and chronicler who lived in the 16th century. He is best known for his work on the Annals of the Four Masters, a comprehensive history of Ireland from ancient times to the 17th century.
In the 17th century, the Clancy name was also associated with the Gaelic poet and scholar, Aodh Buidhe O'Cleirigh (c. 1590-1643), who was a member of the famous O'Clery scholarly family. He is renowned for his contributions to the preservation of Irish literature and language.
Another notable figure in Irish history was John Clancy (c. 1785-1847), a Catholic priest and writer who played a significant role in the Irish nationalist movement. He advocated for Catholic emancipation and wrote extensively on Irish history and culture.
The Clancy name has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Clancy's Bridge in County Clare and Clancy's Cross in County Limerick, suggesting the family's long-standing presence in these regions.
Other prominent individuals with the Clancy surname include Eugene Clancy (1884-1954), an Irish-American politician who served as the Comptroller of New York City, and Tom Clancy (1947-2013), the renowned American author best known for his military fiction novels, including "The Hunt for Red October" and the Jack Ryan series.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Clancy
Among Census respondents with the surname Clancy, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Clancy bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Clancy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.9% · 10,639
- Black or African American3.7% · 448
- Two or more races3.1% · 375
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 372
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 107
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 28
Timeline
Historical Census data for Clancy
Clancy appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,871
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,556
+490 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 4.26
Rank movement Down 127 places
2020
#2,942
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,969
-587 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 4.00
Rank movement Down 71 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,744 | 12,066 | 4.47 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,871 | 12,556 | 4.26 | +490 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 127 places |
| 2020 | #2,942 | 11,969 | 4.00 | -587 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 71 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Clancy surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,871 | #2,942 | -2.5% |
| Count | 12,556 | 11,969 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 4.26 | 4.00 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Clancy bearers went from 12,556 to 11,969 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 71 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,871 to #2,942.
FAQ
Clancy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Clancy?
Name Census estimates that about 13,725 living Americans carry the surname Clancy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 24,973 residents.
How common is Clancy?
Clancy ranks #2,942 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.00 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,969 people with the surname Clancy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,725), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.00 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Clancy.
Has Clancy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Clancy went from 12,556 recorded bearers to 11,969. That is a decrease of 587 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,871 to #2,942.
What does the Census say about the background of Clancy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Clancy, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Clancy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.9% (10,639 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Clancy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.9%), Black (3.7%), Two or More Races (3.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Clancy (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Clancy mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Fhlannchaidh," meaning "son of Flannchadh" (a personal name meaning "red warrior"). The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Clancy (4.00 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Clancy?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.