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

Frawley, 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 Frawley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Frawley in America

Frawley is the 10011th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Frawley surname appeared 3,221 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 Frawley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Frawley 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 Frawley

The surname Frawley originates from Ireland, first appearing in historical records around the 12th century. It is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic surname "O'Fraghalaigh," which is derived from the Irish words "frag" meaning "valorous" and "gal" meaning "valor" or "bravery." The name likely referred to a person who was considered particularly brave or valiant.

The Frawley surname was first concentrated in the counties of Roscommon and Galway in the western province of Connacht. It is believed to have been adopted by descendants of the Hy-Briuin Seola, a prominent Irish clan that controlled parts of Roscommon and surrounding areas during the Middle Ages.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the 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 "Frahilidh O'Fraghalaigh" who was a scribe and poet active in the late 14th century.

In the 16th century, a branch of the Frawley family settled in County Clare, where the surname variant "Frawly" became more common. A notable figure from this time was Donough Frawly, a landowner and supporter of the Irish rebel Hugh O'Neill during the Nine Years' War against English rule in the late 16th century.

During the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in the 1650s, many Frawley families were dispossessed of their lands and forced to relocate to other parts of the country or emigrate. Some Frawleys may be found in historical records from this period, such as the Petty Census of 1659.

In the 18th century, a prominent member of the Frawley family was John Frawley (1712-1789), a Catholic priest and educator who founded a school in County Roscommon. Another notable figure was Patrick Frawley (1769-1854), a lawyer and landowner from County Clare who served as a member of the Irish Parliament.

Other historical figures with the Frawley surname include Michael Frawley (1861-1936), an Irish politician and member of the British Parliament for North Roscommon, and John Frawley (1898-1969), an Irish Republican Army leader during the Irish War of Independence in the early 20th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Frawley

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

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

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

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