2000
#8,204
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,722
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.38
Rare Last name
Crotty
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "O'Crotaigh," meaning "descendant of Crotach," a nickname for a hunchbacked person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,110 Americans carry the last name Crotty. That puts it at #8,778 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 83,395 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Crotty 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 Crotty with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.1K
1 in 83,395
Census rank
#8,778
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,584 bearers of the surname Crotty in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8778th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Crotty, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Crotty
The surname Crotty is of Irish origin, and it is believed to have emerged in the 12th or 13th century. The name is derived from the Gaelic word "crott," which means "hump" or "lump." It is thought that the name was initially given as a nickname to someone with a hunched back or a distinctive physical feature.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Crotty surname can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. In these annals, there is a reference to a family named "O'Crottaigh" in County Cork, Ireland, in the 14th century.
The name Crotty has been associated with several notable historical figures over the centuries. In the 16th century, a man named Dermot Crotty was a leader of the Irish Rebellion of 1598, fighting against English rule in Ireland. Another prominent figure with this surname was William Crotty (1775-1847), an Irish Catholic priest and educator who founded several schools in County Cork.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Crotty name was particularly concentrated in the counties of Cork and Kerry in the southwest of Ireland. Some variations in the spelling of the name, such as "Crotti" and "Crottie," were also observed in historical records from this period.
One notable bearer of the Crotty name was Patrick Crotty (1827-1876), an Irish-born prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the Bishop of Boston from 1870 until his death. Another was Denis Crotty (1851-1920), an Irish politician and member of the Irish Parliamentary Party who represented the Cork City constituency in the British House of Commons.
In the 20th century, a prominent figure with the Crotty surname was Terence Crotty (1915-2005), an Irish economist and author who made significant contributions to the study of agricultural economics and rural development in Ireland. He was recognized for his work with the prestigious Cunningham Medal awarded by the Royal Irish Academy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Crotty
Among Census respondents with the surname Crotty, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Crotty 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 Crotty surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 3,333
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 105
- Two or more races2.5% · 91
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 37
- Black or African American0.3% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Crotty
Crotty 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
#8,793
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,726
+4 bearers (+0.1%)
Per 100,000 1.26
Rank movement Down 589 places
2020
#8,778
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,584
-142 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 1.20
Rank movement Up 15 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,204 | 3,722 | 1.38 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,793 | 3,726 | 1.26 | +4 bearers (+0.1%) | Down 589 places |
| 2020 | #8,778 | 3,584 | 1.20 | -142 bearers (-3.8%) | Up 15 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 Crotty 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 | #8,793 | #8,778 | 0.2% |
| Count | 3,726 | 3,584 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.26 | 1.20 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Crotty bearers went from 3,726 to 3,584 (-3.8% change). The surname moved up 15 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,793 to #8,778.
FAQ
Crotty surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Crotty?
Name Census estimates that about 4,110 living Americans carry the surname Crotty. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 83,395 residents.
How common is Crotty?
Crotty ranks #8,778 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.20 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 3,584 people with the surname Crotty. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,110), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.20 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 Crotty.
Has Crotty become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Crotty went from 3,726 recorded bearers to 3,584. That is a decrease of 142 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,793 to #8,778.
What does the Census say about the background of Crotty?
Among Census respondents with the surname Crotty, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Crotty in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (3,333 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Crotty appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Hispanic (2.9%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Crotty (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 Crotty mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "O'Crotaigh," meaning "descendant of Crotach," a nickname for a hunchbacked person. 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 Crotty (1.20 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 common is the surname Crotty?
Want to know how common the surname Crotty is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.