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

Cunniff, 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 Cunniff surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cunniff in America

Cunniff is the 17258th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cunniff surname appeared 1,641 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Cunniff.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cunniff 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 Cunniff

The surname Cunniff is of Irish origin and is believed to have originated in County Sligo, located in the northwest region of Ireland. The name is a variant of the Gaelic surname Ó Conaing, which is derived from the personal name Conang, meaning "high" or "valiant."

Records indicate that the Cunniff family was among the prominent clans in County Sligo during the medieval period. The earliest known reference to the name can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions a chieftain named Conang Ua Conaing in the year 1261.

In the 16th century, the Cunniff family was among the Irish clans that resisted the English conquest of Ireland. During this period, the name was often anglicized to various spellings, including Conneff, Conniff, and Cunniff, reflecting the difficulties in transliterating Gaelic names into English.

One notable individual bearing the Cunniff surname was Terence Cunniff, a 17th-century Irish soldier who fought for the Catholic Confederacy during the Irish Confederate Wars (1641-1653). He was later exiled to Spain following the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.

In the 18th century, the Cunniff family spread across Ireland, with many members settling in Counties Sligo, Mayo, and Galway. During this time, a branch of the family adopted the anglicized spelling "Conniff," which became more prevalent in certain regions.

A prominent figure from this era was Sir John Cunniff (1692-1768), a wealthy landowner and member of the Irish Parliament, who represented County Sligo in the Irish House of Commons.

In the 19th century, many Cunniffs and Conniffs emigrated from Ireland to various parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, often due to the Great Famine and other economic hardships.

One notable figure from this period was Michael Cunniff (1820-1901), an Irish immigrant to the United States who became a successful businessman and philanthropist in Boston, Massachusetts.

Another important figure was Francis Cunniff (1840-1921), a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and played a significant role in the development of Manitoba's legal and educational systems.

Throughout its history, the Cunniff surname has been associated with various places in Ireland, including the townlands of Cunniffe and Conniffe in County Sligo, as well as the village of Conniff in County Mayo.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cunniff

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

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

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

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