2000
#921
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 34,650
First available Census row
Per 100,000 12.84
Uncommon Last name
Daugherty
An Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Dochartaigh, meaning "descendant of Dochartach" (derived from "docht" meaning "stern").
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 38,205 Americans carry the last name Daugherty. That puts it at #1,037 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 11.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 8,971 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Daugherty 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 Daugherty with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
38K
1 in 8,971
Census rank
#1,037
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
11.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
33K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 33,317 bearers of the surname Daugherty in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 11.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1037th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Daugherty, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Black (4.3%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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One notable historical reference to the Daugherty surname is in the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners and tenants in England after the Norman Conquest.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Daugherty
Among Census respondents with the surname Daugherty, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Black (4.3%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Daugherty 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 Daugherty surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.2% · 29,039
- Black or African American4.3% · 1,442
- Two or more races4.0% · 1,343
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 966
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 337
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 190
Timeline
Historical Census data for Daugherty
Daugherty 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
#997
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 34,987
+337 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 11.86
Rank movement Down 76 places
2020
#1,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 33,317
-1,670 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 11.15
Rank movement Down 40 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #921 | 34,650 | 12.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #997 | 34,987 | 11.86 | +337 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 76 places |
| 2020 | #1,037 | 33,317 | 11.15 | -1,670 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 40 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 Daugherty 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 | #997 | #1,037 | -4.0% |
| Count | 34,987 | 33,317 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 11.86 | 11.15 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Daugherty bearers went from 34,987 to 33,317 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 40 positions in the national ranking, going from #997 to #1,037.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Daugherty
FAQ
Daugherty surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Daugherty?
Name Census estimates that about 38,205 living Americans carry the surname Daugherty. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 8,971 residents.
How common is Daugherty?
Daugherty ranks #1,037 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 11.15 per 100,000 residents, which is about 11 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 33,317 people with the surname Daugherty. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (38,205), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 11.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 11.15 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 11 of them to have the surname Daugherty.
Has Daugherty become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Daugherty went from 34,987 recorded bearers to 33,317. That is a decrease of 1,670 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #997 to #1,037.
What does the Census say about the background of Daugherty?
Among Census respondents with the surname Daugherty, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Black (4.3%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Daugherty in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.2% (29,039 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Daugherty appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.2%), Black (4.3%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Daugherty (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 Daugherty mean?
An Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Dochartaigh, meaning "descendant of Dochartach" (derived from "docht" meaning "stern"). 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 Daugherty (11.15 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 many people have the last name Daugherty?
Want to know how many people are called Daugherty? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.