2000
#1,413
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,063
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.55
Uncommon Last name
Driscoll
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "O'hEidersceoil," meaning "descendant of the messenger or courier."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 26,205 Americans carry the last name Driscoll. That puts it at #1,525 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.65 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 13,080 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Driscoll 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 Driscoll with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
26K
1 in 13,080
Census rank
#1,525
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
23K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 22,852 bearers of the surname Driscoll in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.65 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1525th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Driscoll, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Driscoll
The surname Driscoll has its origins in Ireland, where it first emerged in the medieval period. It is an Anglicized version of the Gaelic name O'Driscoll, derived from the Old Irish words 'dreis' meaning "bramble" and 'coll' meaning "young man" or "bright-headed". The progenitors of the Driscoll clan were likely known for their red or bright hair.
The Driscolls were part of the Ui Eidirsceoil, a powerful family from County Cork in the province of Munster. They held significant lands and influence in West Cork, particularly around the modern-day towns of Baltimore and Skibbereen. The name appears in several ancient Irish annals and manuscripts, such as the Annals of Inisfallen and the Book of Munster.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name was Conor O'Driscoll, who was the chief of the clan in the late 12th century. He is mentioned in the Annals of Inisfallen as having been involved in a conflict with the Anglo-Norman invaders in 1177.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Driscolls played a significant role in the Irish Confederate Wars and the Williamite War in Ireland. Sir Fineen O'Driscoll, who lived from 1580 to 1629, was a prominent figure in these conflicts and is recorded as having led his clan in battles against the English forces.
Another notable Driscoll was Florence Driscoll, a 17th-century Irish soldier and adventurer who served in the Spanish Army of Flanders and later became a pirate in the Caribbean. He was born around 1630 and is believed to have died sometime in the late 17th century.
In the 19th century, John Driscoll, born in 1815, was a notable Irish journalist and political activist who campaigned for tenant rights and land reform in Ireland. He was also a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, a revolutionary organization dedicated to the establishment of an independent Irish republic.
As the Driscoll family spread throughout the world, the name took on various spellings, including Driskel, Driskill, and Driskell. The name has also been associated with several place names in Ireland, such as Driscoll's Demesne and Driscoll's Rock in County Cork.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Driscoll
Among Census respondents with the surname Driscoll, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Driscoll 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 Driscoll surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 20,911
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 748
- Two or more races2.8% · 637
- Black or African American1.5% · 332
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 176
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 48
Timeline
Historical Census data for Driscoll
Driscoll 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
#1,538
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,385
+322 bearers (+1.4%)
Per 100,000 7.93
Rank movement Down 125 places
2020
#1,525
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,852
-533 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 7.65
Rank movement Up 13 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,413 | 23,063 | 8.55 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,538 | 23,385 | 7.93 | +322 bearers (+1.4%) | Down 125 places |
| 2020 | #1,525 | 22,852 | 7.65 | -533 bearers (-2.3%) | Up 13 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 Driscoll 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 | #1,538 | #1,525 | 0.8% |
| Count | 23,385 | 22,852 | -2.3% |
| Per 100K | 7.93 | 7.65 | -3.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Driscoll bearers went from 23,385 to 22,852 (-2.3% change). The surname moved up 13 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,538 to #1,525.
FAQ
Driscoll surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Driscoll?
Name Census estimates that about 26,205 living Americans carry the surname Driscoll. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 13,080 residents.
How common is Driscoll?
Driscoll ranks #1,525 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.65 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 22,852 people with the surname Driscoll. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (26,205), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.65 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.65 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Driscoll.
Has Driscoll become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Driscoll went from 23,385 recorded bearers to 22,852. That is a decrease of 533 (-2.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,538 to #1,525.
What does the Census say about the background of Driscoll?
Among Census respondents with the surname Driscoll, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Driscoll in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (20,911 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Driscoll appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.5%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Driscoll (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 Driscoll mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "O'hEidersceoil," meaning "descendant of the messenger or courier." 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 Driscoll (7.65 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 share the surname Driscoll?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.