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

Dunphy, 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 Dunphy surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dunphy in America

Dunphy is the 8928th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dunphy surname appeared 3,666 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 Dunphy.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dunphy 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 Dunphy

The surname Dunphy is an anglicized version of the Irish Gaelic Ó Donnchadha, which means "descendant of Donnchadh". Donnchadh was a popular personal name derived from the Gaelic elements "donn" meaning brown, and "cath" meaning battle or warrior. The name originated in County Kerry, Ireland, in the medieval period.

The earliest recorded instance of the name Dunphy can be traced back to the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. It mentions Donnchadh Ó Donnchadha, who was a prominent chieftain in Kerry in the 14th century.

In the 16th century, the surname appeared in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, a collection of documents from the English government in Ireland. One notable figure was Edmond Dunphy, who was granted lands in County Kerry in 1586.

During the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in the 17th century, many Dunphys were displaced from their ancestral lands. Some migrated to other parts of Ireland, while others emigrated to Europe and the Americas.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in America was John Dunphy, who arrived in Virginia in 1635. Another notable figure was Thomas Dunphy, born in 1664 in County Kerry, who later settled in Maryland and became a prominent landowner.

In the 18th century, the surname appeared in various records across Ireland, such as the Census of Elphin and the Diocesan Returns. Prominent individuals included Reverend James Dunphy, a Catholic priest from County Kerry, and John Dunphy, a member of the Irish Parliament in the late 1700s.

Other notable individuals with the surname Dunphy throughout history include:

1. Alice Dunphy-Schwartz (1905-1985), American politician and lawyer from New York.
2. Michael Dunphy (1915-2000), Irish writer and journalist known for his works on Irish history and culture.
3. Sean Dunphy (1919-2011), Irish hurler who played for the Waterford senior team in the 1940s.
4. Graeme Dunphy (born 1962), New Zealand rugby union player and coach.
5. Shane Dunphy (born 1981), Irish Gaelic footballer who played for the Waterford senior team.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dunphy

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

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

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

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