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

Fennelly, 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 Fennelly surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fennelly in America

Fennelly is the 31790th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fennelly surname appeared 726 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Fennelly.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fennelly 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 Fennelly

The surname Fennelly originated in Ireland and has its roots in the Irish Gaelic language. It is a variant of the name Fennessy, which is derived from the old Irish personal name "Fionnghus," meaning "fair-haired." This name was brought to Ireland by Viking settlers during the 9th and 10th centuries.

The name Fennelly is most commonly found in County Cork and County Kerry in the southwestern part of Ireland. It is believed that the earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century, though it is difficult to pinpoint the exact origin due to the lack of comprehensive historical records from that time.

One of the earliest known references to the name Fennelly can be found in the "Annals of the Four Masters," a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century. This text mentions a "Fennessy" family as landowners in County Cork during the 14th century.

In the 16th century, the Fennelly name appears in the "Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns," a collection of documents relating to the administration of Ireland during the Tudor period. These records list several individuals with the surname Fennelly as holders of land grants and other official positions.

Notable individuals with the surname Fennelly throughout history include:

1. Maurice Fennelly (c. 1600 - 1680), an Irish military leader who fought in the Confederate Wars of the 1640s.
2. Jeremiah Fennelly (1766 - 1842), an Irish-American soldier who served in the American Revolutionary War.
3. Richard Fennelly (1823 - 1893), an Irish-born Australian politician and member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.
4. Mary Fennelly (1892 - 1969), an Irish-American labor organizer and activist for workers' rights.
5. Daniel Fennelly (1939 - 2010), an American author and playwright known for his works depicting Irish-American culture.

While the surname Fennelly has roots in Ireland, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through Irish emigration to countries like the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fennelly

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

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

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

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