Haggerty last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Haggerty

An Irish surname derived from Ó hÉigeartuigh, meaning "descendant of Éigeartach," a personal name meaning "fierce" or "anxious."

Haggerty, 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 Haggerty surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Haggerty in America

Haggerty is the 3194th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Haggerty surname appeared 11,320 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Haggerty.

We can also compare 2010 data for Haggerty 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 3194 3032 5.20%
Count 11,320 10,961 3.22%
Proportion per 100k 3.84 4.06 -5.57%

The history of the last name Haggerty

The surname Haggerty originated in Ireland and is derived from the Gaelic Ó hAgrí, meaning "descendant of Agrí." Agrí was a personal name derived from the Old Irish word "agra," meaning "lively" or "vigorous."

The name first appeared in the counties of Tipperary and Waterford, where the Haggerty clan held lands. The earliest recorded instance of the name is found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions a Donnchadh Ó hAgrí in the year 1273.

In the 16th century, the Haggerty family played a significant role in the Desmond Rebellions, supporting the Earl of Desmond against English rule. During this period, the name was sometimes spelled as Haggarty or Haggerdie.

One notable figure with the Haggerty surname was Sir Nicholas Haggerty (c. 1550-1624), an Irish soldier and landowner who served under the Earl of Tyrone during the Nine Years' War. He later received a pardon from King James I and was granted lands in County Fermanagh.

Another prominent Haggerty was Patrick Haggerty (c. 1700-1782), a Catholic priest and poet from County Tipperary. He is remembered for his work "The Tipperary Litany," which celebrated the beauty of his native county.

In the 19th century, James Haggerty (1809-1884) was a successful businessman and philanthropist in New York City. He made his fortune in the shipping industry and donated generously to various Catholic charities and institutions.

John Haggerty (1825-1905) was an Irish-American politician who served as the Mayor of Brooklyn from 1889 to 1891. He played a significant role in the consolidation of Brooklyn with New York City in 1898.

Bridget Haggerty (1839-1905), known as "The Irish Queen," was a renowned Irish-American labor activist and community organizer in New York City. She advocated for better working conditions and housing for the city's immigrant population.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Haggerty

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

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 Haggerty was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 88.72% 10,043
Non-Hispanic Black Only 6.35% 719
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.49% 55
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.36% 41
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.73% 196
Hispanic Origin 2.34% 265

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 Haggerty has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 88.72% 90.12% -1.57%
Black 6.35% 6.49% -2.18%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.49% 0.36% 30.59%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.36% 0.42% -15.38%
Two or More Races 1.73% 1.23% 33.78%
Hispanic 2.34% 1.38% 51.61%

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

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

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"Haggerty last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 12, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/haggerty-surname-popularity/.

"Haggerty last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/haggerty-surname-popularity/. Accessed 12 October, 2024

Haggerty last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/haggerty-surname-popularity/.

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