2000
#3,032
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,961
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.06
Uncommon Last name
Haggerty
An Irish surname derived from Ó hÉigeartuigh, meaning "descendant of Éigeartach," a personal name meaning "fierce" or "anxious."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 12,345 Americans carry the last name Haggerty. That puts it at #3,271 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 27,765 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Haggerty 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 Haggerty with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
12K
1 in 27,765
Census rank
#3,271
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 10,765 bearers of the surname Haggerty in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3271st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Haggerty, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Black (6.3%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Haggerty
Among Census respondents with the surname Haggerty, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Black (6.3%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Haggerty 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 Haggerty surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.8% · 9,340
- Black or African American6.3% · 682
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 329
- Two or more races2.9% · 308
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 71
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 35
Timeline
Historical Census data for Haggerty
Haggerty 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
#3,194
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,320
+359 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 3.84
Rank movement Down 162 places
2020
#3,271
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,765
-555 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 3.60
Rank movement Down 77 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,032 | 10,961 | 4.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,194 | 11,320 | 3.84 | +359 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 162 places |
| 2020 | #3,271 | 10,765 | 3.60 | -555 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 77 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 Haggerty 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 | #3,194 | #3,271 | -2.4% |
| Count | 11,320 | 10,765 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 3.84 | 3.60 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Haggerty bearers went from 11,320 to 10,765 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 77 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,194 to #3,271.
FAQ
Haggerty surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Haggerty?
Name Census estimates that about 12,345 living Americans carry the surname Haggerty. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 27,765 residents.
How common is Haggerty?
Haggerty ranks #3,271 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.60 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 10,765 people with the surname Haggerty. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (12,345), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.60 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 Haggerty.
Has Haggerty become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Haggerty went from 11,320 recorded bearers to 10,765. That is a decrease of 555 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,194 to #3,271.
What does the Census say about the background of Haggerty?
Among Census respondents with the surname Haggerty, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Black (6.3%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Haggerty in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.8% (9,340 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Haggerty appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.8%), Black (6.3%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Haggerty (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 Haggerty mean?
An Irish surname derived from Ó hÉigeartuigh, meaning "descendant of Éigeartach," a personal name meaning "fierce" or "anxious." 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 Haggerty (3.60 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 last name Haggerty?
Find out how many people have the last name Haggerty on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.