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

Connell, 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 Connell surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Connell in America

Connell is the 1589th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Connell surname appeared 22,552 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 8 people would have the surname Connell.

We can also compare 2010 data for Connell 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 Connell

The surname Connell originated in Ireland, with records dating back to the 12th century. It is an Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name "O'Conghalaigh," which means "descendant of Conghalach." Conghalach was a personal name derived from the Gaelic words "con" meaning hound, and "ghal" meaning valor or bravery.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 15th century. The Annals mention a "Conghalach Ua Conghalaigh" who was the chief of the Uí Conghalaigh clan in the 12th century.

The Connell surname is particularly associated with County Donegal in Ulster, where the Uí Conghalaigh clan was based. The name is also found in other parts of Ireland, including Counties Sligo, Mayo, and Galway.

Notable individuals with the surname Connell include:

1. Sir John Connell (1616-1698), an Irish landowner and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for County Donegal.
2. Michael Connell (1804-1879), an Irish-born American Catholic priest and educator who founded the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
3. Evan Shelby Connell (1924-2013), an American novelist and intellectual known for his works such as "Mrs. Bridge" and "Mr. Bridge."
4. Dermot Connell (born 1950), an Irish former hurler who played for the Cork senior hurling team and won two All-Ireland medals.
5. Yvonne Connell (born 1966), a New Zealand former swimmer and Olympic gold medalist in the 200-meter freestyle event at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

The Connell surname has also been recorded with various spellings over the centuries, including O'Connell, O'Conghaile, Conghail, and Connel. Some of these variations may have been influenced by anglicization or regional dialects within Ireland.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Connell

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

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

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

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