2000
#1,881
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,513
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.49
Uncommon Last name
Flaherty
An Irish surname derived from Ó Flaithbheartaigh, meaning "descendant of Flaithbheartach," a personal name meaning "bright ruler" or "bright prince."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 19,983 Americans carry the last name Flaherty. That puts it at #2,027 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 17,152 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Flaherty 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 Flaherty with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
20K
1 in 17,152
Census rank
#2,027
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 17,426 bearers of the surname Flaherty in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2027th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Flaherty, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Flaherty
The surname Flaherty originated from the Irish Gaelic O'Flathartaigh. The prefix "O" denotes a grandson or male descendant, while the root word "Flathartaigh" is derived from the Irish word "flaith," meaning prince or ruler. This suggests that the Flaherty surname has roots in Irish nobility or chieftains from ancient times.
The Flaherty family can trace their origins to County Galway in the West of Ireland, particularly in the region of Connemara. This area was historically dominated by the powerful O'Flaherty clan, who ruled as kings and princes in the region for centuries. The earliest recorded reference to the name appears in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, dating back to the 12th century.
One of the most notable figures in the Flaherty lineage was Murrough na dTuadh O'Flaherty, who lived in the late 16th century. He was a renowned leader of the O'Flaherty clan and played a pivotal role in the Nine Years' War against English rule in Ireland. Another prominent member of the family was Roderic O'Flaherty (1629-1718), a renowned Irish historian and author of the influential work "Ogygia," which explored the origins of Irish mythology and culture.
The Flaherty name can also be found in various historical documents and records throughout Ireland, such as the Annals of Loch Cé, which mentions the death of Morogh O'Flaherty in 1385. Additionally, the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain any references to the Flaherty name, as it primarily focused on England and Wales.
Other notable individuals bearing the Flaherty surname include:
1. Thomas Flaherty (1753-1824), an Irish-American soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
2. Robert J. Flaherty (1884-1951), a pioneering American filmmaker known for his documentary "Nanook of the North."
3. Liam O'Flaherty (1896-1984), an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known for his works "The Informer" and "Insurrection."
4. John Flaherty (1920-2001), an American film director and screenwriter, known for his work on films like "The Flamingo Kid" and "Goodbye, Columbus."
5. Patricia Flaherty Pagan (born 1940), an American author and co-founder of the Spider Woman Theater, a Native American performance group.
The Flaherty surname has a rich history deeply rooted in Irish culture and can be traced back to the ancient clans and chieftains of County Galway. While the name has spread across the globe, its origins remain firmly grounded in the traditions and heritage of the Emerald Isle.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Flaherty
Among Census respondents with the surname Flaherty, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Flaherty 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 Flaherty surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.8% · 16,346
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 440
- Two or more races2.3% · 393
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 132
- Black or African American0.5% · 94
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 21
Timeline
Historical Census data for Flaherty
Flaherty 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
#2,013
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,926
+413 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 6.08
Rank movement Down 132 places
2020
#2,027
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,426
-500 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 5.83
Rank movement Down 14 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,881 | 17,513 | 6.49 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,013 | 17,926 | 6.08 | +413 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 132 places |
| 2020 | #2,027 | 17,426 | 5.83 | -500 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 14 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 Flaherty 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 | #2,013 | #2,027 | -0.7% |
| Count | 17,926 | 17,426 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 6.08 | 5.83 | -4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Flaherty bearers went from 17,926 to 17,426 (-2.8% change). The surname moved down 14 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,013 to #2,027.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Flaherty
FAQ
Flaherty surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Flaherty?
Name Census estimates that about 19,983 living Americans carry the surname Flaherty. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 17,152 residents.
How common is Flaherty?
Flaherty ranks #2,027 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.83 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 17,426 people with the surname Flaherty. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (19,983), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.83 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Flaherty.
Has Flaherty become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Flaherty went from 17,926 recorded bearers to 17,426. That is a decrease of 500 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,013 to #2,027.
What does the Census say about the background of Flaherty?
Among Census respondents with the surname Flaherty, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Flaherty in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (16,346 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Flaherty appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.8%), Hispanic (2.5%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Flaherty (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 Flaherty mean?
An Irish surname derived from Ó Flaithbheartaigh, meaning "descendant of Flaithbheartach," a personal name meaning "bright ruler" or "bright prince." 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 Flaherty (5.83 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 common is the surname Flaherty?
Find out how many people have the surname Flaherty on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.