2000
#13,326
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,098
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.78
Rare Last name
Flanary
Derived from the Irish surname "O'Flanary," meaning "descendant of Flannghal," a personal name composed of the elements "flann" (red) and "gal" (valor).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,327 Americans carry the last name Flanary. That puts it at #14,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 147,295 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Flanary 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.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 147,295
Census rank
#14,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,029 bearers of the surname Flanary in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Flanary, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.8%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Flanary
The surname Flanary is believed to have its origins in Ireland, deriving from the Gaelic word "flannáird," which means "red vallian" or "red wanderer." This name likely emerged during the medieval period, between the 5th and 15th centuries, when surnames began to be adopted across Europe.
The earliest recorded instances of the Flanary surname can be traced back to County Galway, Ireland, in the 16th century. It is thought to have been associated with families who lived in or near the town of Flannary, which may have been named after an early bearer of the surname.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the Flanary surname was John Flanary, who was born in County Galway in the late 16th century. He was recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, as a member of a prominent local family.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Flanary surname began to spread beyond Ireland as people emigrated to other parts of the world, particularly to the United States and Canada. Notable individuals from this period include Michael Flanary (1675-1749), who settled in Pennsylvania in the early 18th century, and James Flanary (1712-1786), who was one of the first Flanarys to arrive in Virginia.
In the 19th century, the Flanary surname continued to be prominent, with individuals such as William Flanary (1812-1892), a farmer and landowner in Ohio, and Elizabeth Flanary (1830-1912), a teacher and community leader in Tennessee.
More recently, the name has been associated with several notable figures, including the American author and poet Robert Flanary (1935-2018), the British businessman and philanthropist John Flanary (1940-2021), and the Australian academic and historian Emily Flanary (born 1975).
While the Flanary surname is most commonly found in Ireland, the United States, and Canada, it has also been recorded in other parts of the world, including Australia, New Zealand, and various European countries, reflecting the migration patterns of those who bear this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Flanary
Among Census respondents with the surname Flanary, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.8%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Flanary 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 Flanary surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.4% · 1,814
- Two or more races4.8% · 98
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 65
- Black or African American1.3% · 27
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Flanary
Flanary 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
#13,551
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,237
+139 bearers (+6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 225 places
2020
#14,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,029
-208 bearers (-9.3%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 654 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,326 | 2,098 | 0.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,551 | 2,237 | 0.76 | +139 bearers (+6.6%) | Down 225 places |
| 2020 | #14,205 | 2,029 | 0.68 | -208 bearers (-9.3%) | Down 654 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 Flanary 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 | #13,551 | #14,205 | -4.8% |
| Count | 2,237 | 2,029 | -9.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.76 | 0.68 | -10.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Flanary bearers went from 2,237 to 2,029 (-9.3% change). The surname moved down 654 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,551 to #14,205.
FAQ
Flanary surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Flanary?
Name Census estimates that about 2,327 living Americans carry the surname Flanary. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 147,295 residents.
How common is Flanary?
Flanary ranks #14,205 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.68 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,029 people with the surname Flanary. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,327), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.68 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Flanary.
Has Flanary become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Flanary went from 2,237 recorded bearers to 2,029. That is a decrease of 208 (-9.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,551 to #14,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Flanary?
Among Census respondents with the surname Flanary, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.8%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Flanary in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.4% (1,814 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Flanary appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.4%), Two or More Races (4.8%), Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Flanary (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 Flanary mean?
Derived from the Irish surname "O'Flanary," meaning "descendant of Flannghal," a personal name composed of the elements "flann" (red) and "gal" (valor). 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 Flanary (0.68 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 are called Flanary?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Flanary at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.