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

Geraghty, 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 Geraghty surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Geraghty in America

Geraghty is the 9384th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Geraghty surname appeared 3,465 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 Geraghty.

We can also compare 2010 data for Geraghty 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 Geraghty

The surname Geraghty is of Irish Gaelic origin, deriving from the old Irish name 'O Gearaghty' or 'O Gearghaile'. It is believed to have originated in County Mayo in the west of Ireland during the 11th or 12th centuries. The name is an anglicized version of the Gaelic 'O Gearaghty', meaning 'descendant of Gearaghty'.

The root of the name 'Gearaghty' can be traced back to the Irish word 'gearr', meaning 'short' or 'small', and 'aidhe', meaning 'fire' or 'heat'. This suggests that the original bearer of the name may have been a person of small stature or a blacksmith or metalworker by trade. Variations in spelling over the centuries have included Gerraty, Gearaty, Gearety, Gerraghty, and Garrity.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Geraghty can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century. The annals refer to a Conor O'Geraghty who was a prominent chieftain in County Mayo in the late 14th century.

Another notable figure in history bearing the name Geraghty was John Geraghty, an Irish soldier and politician who lived from 1670 to 1737. He served in the Irish Brigades of the French and Spanish armies and later became a member of the Irish House of Commons.

In the 18th century, James Geraghty (1738-1819) was a prominent Catholic activist and writer who campaigned for Catholic emancipation in Ireland. His works included 'A Vindication of the Loyal Catholics of Ireland' published in 1786.

During the 19th century, Patrick Geraghty (1801-1878) was a notable Irish-American businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune in the shipping and railroad industries in New York City. He donated large sums of money to various Catholic charities and institutions.

Another famous bearer of the Geraghty surname was John Geraghty (1858-1942), an Irish-American lawyer and judge who served as a justice on the New York Supreme Court from 1907 to 1933.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Geraghty

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

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

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

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