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

Healy, 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 Healy surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Healy in America

Healy is the 1654th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Healy surname appeared 21,751 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Healy.

We can also compare 2010 data for Healy 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 Healy

The surname Healy originates from Ireland and dates back to the 12th century. It is an anglicized version of the Irish Gaelic name Ó hÉalaighthe, which means "descendant of the industrious one." The name is derived from the word "ealaidhe," meaning "ingenious" or "skilled."

The Healys were originally located in the counties of Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary in the southwestern region of Ireland. Early records show variations in the spelling, including O'Healy, O'Healey, and Hely. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name is found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions an individual named Donnchadh Ó hÉalaighthe in the year 1354.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Healys were prominent landowners in County Clare. The name appears in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, a collection of official records from the 16th century, which mentions several individuals with the surname Healy.

One notable figure from history is John Healy, a 17th-century Irish lawyer and politician who served as Chief Baron of the Exchequer in Ireland from 1658 to 1660. Another individual of note is George Peter Alexander Healy (1808-1894), an American portrait painter renowned for his paintings of prominent figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant.

A famous literary figure with the surname Healy is Seamus Healy (1918-2008), an Irish author and playwright. His works include the novels "The Archimage's Apprentice" and "The Latecomers." In the field of sports, Denis Healy (born 1938) was an Irish hurler who played for the Tipperary senior team and won two All-Ireland medals.

The surname Healy also has a connection to the town of Nenagh in County Tipperary. The Healy family was once the lord of the manor in the nearby village of Tyone, and their name is associated with several local place names, such as Healystown and Healy's Bridge.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Healy

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

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

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

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