2000
#2,981
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.12
Uncommon Last name
Garvey
A surname of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic surname "Ó Gairbhith," meaning "descendant of the fierce warrior."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 12,679 Americans carry the last name Garvey. That puts it at #3,185 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 27,033 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Garvey 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 Garvey with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
13K
1 in 27,033
Census rank
#3,185
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,057 bearers of the surname Garvey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3185th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Garvey, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Garvey
The surname Garvey is of Irish origin and is believed to have originated from the Gaelic word "garbh," which means "rough" or "coarse." It is thought to have been an occupational surname given to someone who worked with rough materials or had a coarse appearance or demeanor.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Garvey can be traced back to County Offaly in Ireland, where it was initially spelled as "Garbhaith" or "Garbhaigh." The name was first anglicized to "Garvey" during the 16th and 17th centuries.
In the Annals of the Four Masters, a medieval Irish chronicle, there are references to individuals with the name Garvey or its earlier spellings. For instance, in 1348, the death of Donough Garbhaigh, a chief of Calry in County Sligo, is recorded.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was William Garvey, who was born in County Offaly in the late 16th century. He was a landowner and is mentioned in the Fiants of Queen Elizabeth I, which were official records of the English Crown.
The Garvey surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. Marcus Garvey, born in 1887 in Jamaica, was a prominent Pan-Africanist leader and activist who founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL).
Other notable individuals with the surname Garvey include:
1. John Garvey (1892-1980), an American prelate who served as the Bishop of Winona from 1950 to 1967.
2. Steve Garvey (born 1948), a former professional baseball player who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, and was named the National League MVP in 1974.
3. Ralph Garvey (1924-2015), an American filmmaker and producer known for his work on the television series "Daniel Boone" and "The Rookies."
4. Kathleen Garvey (1957-2017), an American author and journalist who wrote for publications such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
5. Edmund Garvey (1874-1949), an Irish Sinn Féin politician and member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) who was involved in the Irish War of Independence.
While the Garvey surname is most commonly associated with Ireland, it has also been found in other parts of the world due to Irish emigration and diaspora. The name has spread to countries like the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, where descendants of Irish immigrants have settled.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Garvey
Among Census respondents with the surname Garvey, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Garvey 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 Garvey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.9% · 9,494
- Black or African American5.7% · 635
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 442
- Two or more races3.2% · 352
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 104
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 30
Timeline
Historical Census data for Garvey
Garvey 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
#3,196
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,307
+194 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 3.83
Rank movement Down 215 places
2020
#3,185
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,057
-250 bearers (-2.2%)
Per 100,000 3.70
Rank movement Up 11 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,981 | 11,113 | 4.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,196 | 11,307 | 3.83 | +194 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 215 places |
| 2020 | #3,185 | 11,057 | 3.70 | -250 bearers (-2.2%) | Up 11 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 Garvey 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 | #3,196 | #3,185 | 0.3% |
| Count | 11,307 | 11,057 | -2.2% |
| Per 100K | 3.83 | 3.70 | -3.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Garvey bearers went from 11,307 to 11,057 (-2.2% change). The surname moved up 11 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,196 to #3,185.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Garvey
FAQ
Garvey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Garvey?
Name Census estimates that about 12,679 living Americans carry the surname Garvey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 27,033 residents.
How common is Garvey?
Garvey ranks #3,185 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.70 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,057 people with the surname Garvey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (12,679), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.70 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Garvey.
Has Garvey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Garvey went from 11,307 recorded bearers to 11,057. That is a decrease of 250 (-2.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #3,196 to #3,185.
What does the Census say about the background of Garvey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Garvey, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Garvey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.9% (9,494 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Garvey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.9%), Black (5.7%), Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Garvey (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 Garvey mean?
A surname of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic surname "Ó Gairbhith," meaning "descendant of the fierce warrior." 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 Garvey (3.70 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 have the surname Garvey?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.