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

Farrelly, 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 Farrelly surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Farrelly in America

Farrelly is the 18550th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Farrelly surname appeared 1,487 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 Farrelly.

We can also compare 2010 data for Farrelly 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 Farrelly

The surname Farrelly has its origins in Ireland, and it is believed to have emerged during the late Middle Ages, around the 14th or 15th century. It is a variant of the Irish surname Ferrall, which is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó Faircheallaigh.

The name Ó Faircheallaigh is derived from the Gaelic word "fairchealladh," meaning "superiority" or "excellence," suggesting that the name may have been given to someone of exceptional character or achievements. The prefix "Ó" in the original Gaelic name indicates that it was a patronymic name, meaning "descendant of."

The Farrelly surname was primarily associated with County Longford in the northern part of the ancient province of Leinster. The Ó Faircheallaigh family was a prominent sept (clan) in this region and held positions of influence and authority.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Farrelly surname can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. The annals mention a notable figure named Brian Ó Faircheallaigh, who was the Lord of Muintir Anghaile (a territory in County Longford) in the early 15th century.

In the 16th century, the Farrelly name appears in the Fiants of the Tudor sovereigns, which were official records of grants and appointments made by the English monarchs in Ireland. This suggests that members of the Farrelly family were involved in administrative or legal affairs during this period.

Notable individuals with the Farrelly surname throughout history include:

1. Patrick Farrelly (c. 1456-1529), a prominent Irish ecclesiastic who served as the Bishop of Ardagh from 1490 to 1529.
2. Edmond Farrelly (c. 1594-1668), an Irish Franciscan friar and historian who wrote extensively about the Irish Confederate Wars of the 17th century.
3. Michael Farrelly (c. 1719-1799), an Irish poet and songwriter known for his works in the Irish language.
4. Garrett Farrelly (1824-1892), an Irish-American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana during the 1870s.
5. John Farrelly (1856-1930), an Irish-American prelate who was the first bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland, Ohio, serving from 1909 to 1930.

While the Farrelly surname has its roots in County Longford, it has since spread throughout Ireland and beyond, with many descendants of the original Ó Faircheallaigh clan now residing in various parts of the world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Farrelly

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

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

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

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