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

Halferty, 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 Halferty surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Halferty in America

Halferty is the 38948th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Halferty surname appeared 566 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Halferty.

We can also compare 2010 data for Halferty 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 Halferty

The surname Halferty has its origins in Ireland, emerging in the early 17th century. It is believed to be a variant of the more common Irish surname Halford, which itself derives from the Old English words "hal" (meaning "healthy" or "whole") and "ford" (referring to a shallow river crossing).

The earliest recorded instances of the Halferty name can be found in parish records and land registries from County Louth, Ireland, dated in the 1630s. It is likely that the name originated in this region, possibly as a localized spelling variation of Halford or a similar-sounding surname.

In the 1700s, the Halferty surname began appearing in historical documents from other parts of Ireland, particularly in counties Meath and Westmeath. This suggests that families bearing the name had started to disperse from their original homeland in County Louth.

One notable early bearer of the Halferty name was Patrick Halferty (1695-1773), a landowner and farmer from County Meath. His descendants continued to reside in the Meath area for several generations.

Another individual of historical significance was Bridget Halferty (1810-1892), a prominent figure in the Irish Potato Famine relief efforts in County Westmeath during the 1840s. Her efforts to aid the starving populace were widely documented in contemporary accounts.

In the late 19th century, James Halferty (1852-1921) emigrated from Ireland to the United States, settling in New York City. He became a successful businessman and was involved in various Irish-American cultural organizations.

Another noteworthy bearer of the Halferty surname was Michael Halferty (1879-1958), a journalist and author from County Louth. He was known for his writings on Irish history and folklore, and his works were influential in preserving local traditions and stories.

While not as widespread as some other Irish surnames, the Halferty name has persisted through the centuries, carried by generations of families who have contributed to the rich tapestry of Irish history and culture.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Halferty

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!