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

Craffey, 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 Craffey surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Craffey in America

Craffey is the 86314th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Craffey surname appeared 216 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Craffey.

We can also compare 2010 data for Craffey 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 Craffey

The surname Craffey is of Irish origin, originating from the Gaelic language and areas of Ireland. It is believed to have derived from the old Gaelic words "craf" meaning "wild garlic" and "ach" meaning "abounding in", effectively translating to "a place abounding in wild garlic".

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 16th century in County Galway, Ireland, with variations in spelling such as Craffa, Craffe, and Craffee. It is likely that the name was originally a descriptor for someone residing near or having lands with an abundance of wild garlic.

In the Annals of the Four Masters, a historical chronicle of medieval Irish history, there is a reference to a "Dermot Craffa" in the year 1591. This is one of the earliest documented mentions of the name in historical records.

One notable bearer of the Craffey surname was Sir Edward Craffey (1790-1854), an Irish judge and politician who served as the Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer from 1846 until his death. He was born in Dublin and had a distinguished legal career.

Another individual of note was Patrick Craffey (1845-1923), an Irish-American businessman and politician from Chicago. He served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives and was involved in various business ventures in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In the late 18th century, a John Craffey was recorded as a landowner in County Mayo, Ireland, according to the Landed Estates Database compiled by the National University of Ireland, Galway.

The Craffey name can also be found in records from the 17th century relating to the Plantation of Ulster, a historical effort to settle Protestant English and Scottish settlers in parts of northern Ireland.

While the name originated in Ireland, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly areas with significant Irish immigration, such as the United States, Canada, and Australia, among others.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Craffey

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

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

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

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