Daugherty last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Daugherty

An Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Dochartaigh, meaning "descendant of Dochartach" (derived from "docht" meaning "stern").

Daugherty, 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 Daugherty surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Daugherty in America

Daugherty is the 997th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Daugherty surname appeared 34,987 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 12 people would have the surname Daugherty.

We can also compare 2010 data for Daugherty 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 997 921 7.92%
Count 34,987 34,650 0.97%
Proportion per 100k 11.86 12.84 -7.94%

The history of the last name Daugherty

The surname Daugherty is of English origin, derived from the medieval English word "dohter," meaning daughter. It likely emerged as a surname in the 12th or 13th century, initially used to distinguish one person from another by referring to their relationship as someone's daughter.

The earliest recorded instances of the Daugherty name can be found in various English historical records, such as the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from the 13th century, where it appeared as "Doghter." Over time, the spelling evolved into different variations, including Dougherty, Doherty, and eventually Daugherty.

One notable historical reference to the Daugherty surname is in the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners and tenants in England after the Norman Conquest. While the name itself is not mentioned, there are references to individuals with the title "filia" (Latin for daughter), suggesting the potential origin of the surname.

In terms of place names, the Daugherty surname may have derived from locations such as Dougherty in Cheshire, England, or Daugherty in County Tyrone, Ireland. These place names likely originated from individuals with the surname Daugherty who settled in those areas.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the Daugherty surname:

  1. William Daugherty (c. 1675-1737), an Irish-born American settler and landowner in Pennsylvania.
  2. Andrew Daugherty (1755-1822), an American Revolutionary War soldier and early settler in Ohio.
  3. Elizabeth Daugherty (1806-1892), an American pioneer and one of the first female settlers in Oregon.
  4. James Daugherty (1887-1974), an American author, illustrator, and painter known for his children's books and murals.
  5. Harry M. Daugherty (1860-1941), an American politician who served as the 43rd United States Attorney General from 1921 to 1924.

While the Daugherty surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly to countries with significant English or Irish immigration, such as the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Daugherty

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

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 Daugherty was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 90.01% 31,492
Non-Hispanic Black Only 4.48% 1,567
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.47% 164
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 1.09% 381
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.94% 679
Hispanic Origin 2.00% 700

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 Daugherty has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 90.01% 91.64% -1.79%
Black 4.48% 4.17% 7.17%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.47% 0.43% 8.89%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 1.09% 0.98% 10.63%
Two or More Races 1.94% 1.43% 30.27%
Hispanic 2.00% 1.34% 39.52%

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

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Daugherty last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 5, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/daugherty-surname-popularity/.

"Daugherty last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/daugherty-surname-popularity/. Accessed 5 December, 2024

Daugherty last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/daugherty-surname-popularity/.

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