2000
#12,206
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,340
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.87
Rare Last name
Coady
Anglicized form of the Irish surname Mac Óda, meaning "son of Óda" (possibly derived from a nickname meaning "wealthy").
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,609 Americans carry the last name Coady. That puts it at #12,915 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 131,374 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Coady 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 Coady with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 131,374
Census rank
#12,915
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,275 bearers of the surname Coady in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12915th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Coady, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Black (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Coady
The surname Coady originated in Ireland and is an anglicized version of the Gaelic Ó Comhdháidh. The Gaelic form of the name means "descendant of Comhdhadh," which is derived from the word "comhdha," meaning "protection" or "security."
The name is believed to have originated in County Galway, where it was first recorded in the 13th century. The Coady family was part of the Gaelic aristocracy and held lands in the Connemara region of Galway.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Coady can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. The Annals mention Conchobhar Ó Comhdháidh, who was a chieftain in Connemara in the late 13th century.
Another notable early bearer of the name was Tadhg Ó Comhdháidh, who lived in the 15th century and was a prominent poet and scholar. His works are preserved in several Irish manuscripts from the period.
The Coady surname began to be anglicized to its current spelling in the 16th and 17th centuries, as English rule and influence in Ireland increased. Some early examples of the anglicized spelling include John Coady, who was born in Galway in 1587, and Edmond Coady, who was born in Roscommon in 1612.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Coady name was found throughout Ireland, particularly in Galway, Mayo, and Roscommon. Notable individuals from this period include Michael Coady (1735-1810), a Catholic priest and educator in Galway, and John Coady (1772-1856), a United Irishman and political activist from Mayo.
As Irish immigration to other parts of the world increased in the 19th and 20th centuries, the Coady surname spread to countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia. Some notable bearers of the name from this period include Maurice Francis Egan (1852-1924), an American writer and diplomat who was born in Philadelphia to Irish immigrant parents, and Moses Coady (1882-1959), a Canadian educator and co-operative leader from Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Coady
Among Census respondents with the surname Coady, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Black (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Coady 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 Coady surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 2,067
- Black or African American3.0% · 69
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 59
- Two or more races2.5% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Coady
Coady 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
#12,447
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,494
+154 bearers (+6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Down 241 places
2020
#12,915
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,275
-219 bearers (-8.8%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 468 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,206 | 2,340 | 0.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,447 | 2,494 | 0.85 | +154 bearers (+6.6%) | Down 241 places |
| 2020 | #12,915 | 2,275 | 0.76 | -219 bearers (-8.8%) | Down 468 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 Coady 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 | #12,447 | #12,915 | -3.8% |
| Count | 2,494 | 2,275 | -8.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.85 | 0.76 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Coady bearers went from 2,494 to 2,275 (-8.8% change). The surname moved down 468 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,447 to #12,915.
FAQ
Coady surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Coady?
Name Census estimates that about 2,609 living Americans carry the surname Coady. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 131,374 residents.
How common is Coady?
Coady ranks #12,915 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,275 people with the surname Coady. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,609), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Coady.
Has Coady become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Coady went from 2,494 recorded bearers to 2,275. That is a decrease of 219 (-8.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,447 to #12,915.
What does the Census say about the background of Coady?
Among Census respondents with the surname Coady, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Black (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Coady in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (2,067 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Coady appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Black (3.0%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Coady (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 Coady mean?
Anglicized form of the Irish surname Mac Óda, meaning "son of Óda" (possibly derived from a nickname meaning "wealthy"). 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 Coady (0.76 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 Americans have the surname Coady?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.