2000
#1,540
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,407
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.94
Uncommon Last name
Healy
Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó hÉalaighthe, meaning "descendant of Éaladhach," derived from éaladh, meaning "ingenious" or "clever."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 24,072 Americans carry the last name Healy. That puts it at #1,679 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 14,239 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Healy 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 Healy with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
24K
1 in 14,239
Census rank
#1,679
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
21K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 20,992 bearers of the surname Healy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1679th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Healy, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Healy
Among Census respondents with the surname Healy, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Healy 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 Healy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.9% · 19,300
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 668
- Two or more races2.7% · 559
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 193
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 145
- Black or African American0.6% · 127
Timeline
Historical Census data for Healy
Healy 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
#1,654
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,751
+344 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 7.37
Rank movement Down 114 places
2020
#1,679
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,992
-759 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 7.02
Rank movement Down 25 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,540 | 21,407 | 7.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,654 | 21,751 | 7.37 | +344 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 114 places |
| 2020 | #1,679 | 20,992 | 7.02 | -759 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 25 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 Healy 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 | #1,654 | #1,679 | -1.5% |
| Count | 21,751 | 20,992 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 7.37 | 7.02 | -4.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Healy bearers went from 21,751 to 20,992 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 25 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,654 to #1,679.
FAQ
Healy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Healy?
Name Census estimates that about 24,072 living Americans carry the surname Healy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 14,239 residents.
How common is Healy?
Healy ranks #1,679 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.02 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 20,992 people with the surname Healy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (24,072), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.02 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Healy.
Has Healy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Healy went from 21,751 recorded bearers to 20,992. That is a decrease of 759 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,654 to #1,679.
What does the Census say about the background of Healy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Healy, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Healy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (19,300 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Healy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.9%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Healy (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 Healy mean?
Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó hÉalaighthe, meaning "descendant of Éaladhach," derived from éaladh, meaning "ingenious" or "clever." 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 Healy (7.02 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 Healy?
See how many Americans have the surname Healy on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.