2000
#3,580
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.38
Uncommon Last name
Fahey
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Fathaigh," meaning "descendant of Fathach," a personal name meaning "raven-like."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,259 Americans carry the last name Fahey. That puts it at #3,864 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.99 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 33,410 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fahey 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 Fahey with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
10K
1 in 33,410
Census rank
#3,864
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.9K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,946 bearers of the surname Fahey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.99 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3864th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fahey, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fahey
The surname Fahey is of Irish origin and can be traced back to County Tipperary, Ireland in the late 16th century. It is an anglicized form of the Gaelic name O'Fahy or O'Fathaidh, derived from the word "fathach" meaning "leader" or "chief".
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fahey can be found in the Fiants of the Reign of Elizabeth I, which mentions a Patrick O'Fahy in 1598. The name also appears in the Annals of the Four Masters, an ancient chronicle of medieval Irish history, where it is spelled as O'Fathaidh.
The Fahey surname was particularly prevalent in the baronies of Iffa and Offa in County Tipperary, where it was associated with the O'Fahy clan. Some notable individuals bearing this name include John Fahey (1805-1873), an Irish-American politician who served as the 13th Mayor of New York City, and John Henry Fahey (1919-2001), an American musician and historian often referred to as the "Father of American Folk Music".
Another prominent figure was Reverend Denis Fahey (1883-1954), an Irish Catholic priest and author who wrote extensively on the topic of Catholic social teaching. In the world of literature, Anne Fahey (1838-1916) was a British novelist and playwright known for her works such as "The Warden's Niece" and "The Broad Arrow".
The Fahey name can also be found in other parts of Ireland, including County Cork, where it is sometimes spelled as Fahie. One notable bearer of this variant spelling was Father Patrick Fahie (1723-1798), a Catholic priest who played a significant role in the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
Over the centuries, the Fahey surname has spread across the globe, with many descendants of Irish immigrants carrying the name in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fahey
Among Census respondents with the surname Fahey, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Fahey 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 Fahey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 8,268
- Two or more races3.0% · 268
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 266
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 75
- Black or African American0.6% · 51
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fahey
Fahey 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
#3,811
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,299
+181 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 3.15
Rank movement Down 231 places
2020
#3,864
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,946
-353 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 2.99
Rank movement Down 53 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,580 | 9,118 | 3.38 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,811 | 9,299 | 3.15 | +181 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 231 places |
| 2020 | #3,864 | 8,946 | 2.99 | -353 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 53 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 Fahey 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 | #3,811 | #3,864 | -1.4% |
| Count | 9,299 | 8,946 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 3.15 | 2.99 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fahey bearers went from 9,299 to 8,946 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 53 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,811 to #3,864.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Fahey
FAQ
Fahey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fahey?
Name Census estimates that about 10,259 living Americans carry the surname Fahey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 33,410 residents.
How common is Fahey?
Fahey ranks #3,864 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.99 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,946 people with the surname Fahey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,259), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.99 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.99 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Fahey.
Has Fahey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fahey went from 9,299 recorded bearers to 8,946. That is a decrease of 353 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,811 to #3,864.
What does the Census say about the background of Fahey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fahey, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Fahey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (8,268 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fahey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Fahey (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 Fahey mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Fathaigh," meaning "descendant of Fathach," a personal name meaning "raven-like." 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 Fahey (2.99 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 Fahey?
See how many people have the surname Fahey on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.