2000
#3,213
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,198
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.78
Uncommon Last name
Flannery
An Irish occupational surname referring to a flannel maker or seller of flannel fabric.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,864 Americans carry the last name Flannery. That puts it at #3,381 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.46 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 28,890 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Flannery 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 Flannery with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
12K
1 in 28,890
Census rank
#3,381
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
10K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 10,346 bearers of the surname Flannery in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.46 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3381st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Flannery, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Flannery
The surname Flannery is of Irish origin and dates back to the 12th century. It is an anglicized version of the Gaelic surname Ó Flannabhra, which means "descendant of Flannabhra." Flannabhra was a personal name derived from the Irish words "flann," meaning "red" or "ruddy," and "abhra," meaning "eyebrow."
The Flannery family was originally located in County Armagh, Ulster province, in Northern Ireland. The name first appeared in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, in the year 1176. Some of the earliest recorded spellings of the name include Ó Flannabhra, O'Flanery, and O'Flanry.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Flannery was John Flannery (c. 1500-1571), an Irish Catholic priest and scholar who served as the Archbishop of Armagh from 1553 to 1571. He was a prominent figure during the Reformation in Ireland and played a significant role in preserving the Catholic faith in the region.
In the 17th century, the Flannery family was among those who lost their lands during the Plantation of Ulster, a government-sponsored colonial settlement of Ulster by English and Scottish settlers. As a result, many Flannerys were forced to migrate to other parts of Ireland or abroad.
One notable Flannery from this period was Sir John Flannery (c. 1620-1680), an Irish soldier who fought for the Royalist cause during the English Civil War. He later served as the Governor of Kinsale, a town in County Cork, Ireland, from 1677 to 1680.
In the 19th century, Michael Flannery (1832-1913) was a prominent Irish-American businessman and politician from New York City. He served as a member of the New York State Senate from 1875 to 1877 and was instrumental in the development of the city's infrastructure and transportation systems.
Another notable figure was Michael Flannery (1851-1921), an Irish-Australian businessman and politician who served as a member of the Australian Parliament from 1901 to 1910. He was a strong advocate for Irish Home Rule and played a significant role in the Irish nationalist movement in Australia.
In more recent history, Thomas J. Flannery (1920-2002) was an American author and journalist who wrote extensively about Irish-American history and culture. His works, such as "The Irish Texans" and "The Irish of West Virginia," shed light on the experiences of Irish immigrants and their descendants in the United States.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Flannery
Among Census respondents with the surname Flannery, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Flannery 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 Flannery surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 9,578
- Two or more races3.2% · 326
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 309
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 57
- Black or African American0.4% · 46
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 30
Timeline
Historical Census data for Flannery
Flannery 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
#3,409
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,497
+299 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 3.56
Rank movement Down 196 places
2020
#3,381
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,346
-151 bearers (-1.4%)
Per 100,000 3.46
Rank movement Up 28 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,213 | 10,198 | 3.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,409 | 10,497 | 3.56 | +299 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 196 places |
| 2020 | #3,381 | 10,346 | 3.46 | -151 bearers (-1.4%) | Up 28 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 Flannery 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 | #3,409 | #3,381 | 0.8% |
| Count | 10,497 | 10,346 | -1.4% |
| Per 100K | 3.56 | 3.46 | -2.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Flannery bearers went from 10,497 to 10,346 (-1.4% change). The surname moved up 28 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,409 to #3,381.
FAQ
Flannery surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Flannery?
Name Census estimates that about 11,864 living Americans carry the surname Flannery. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 28,890 residents.
How common is Flannery?
Flannery ranks #3,381 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.46 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 10,346 people with the surname Flannery. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,864), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.46 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.46 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 Flannery.
Has Flannery become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Flannery went from 10,497 recorded bearers to 10,346. That is a decrease of 151 (-1.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #3,409 to #3,381.
What does the Census say about the background of Flannery?
Among Census respondents with the surname Flannery, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) 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 Flannery in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (9,578 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Flannery appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Two or More Races (3.2%), 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 Flannery (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 Flannery mean?
An Irish occupational surname referring to a flannel maker or seller of flannel fabric. 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 Flannery (3.46 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 Flannery?
Want to know how many people have the last name Flannery? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.