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

Hegarty, 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 Hegarty surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hegarty in America

Hegarty is the 9672nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hegarty surname appeared 3,355 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Hegarty.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hegarty 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 Hegarty

The surname Hegarty originates from Ireland and has its roots in the ancient Gaelic language. It is an anglicized version of the Irish Gaelic name Ó hEigeartagáin, which means "descendant of Eigeartagán." The name Eigeartagán itself is derived from the Gaelic words "eigear" meaning "contention" and "tog" meaning "to kindle or excite."

Hegarty is a relatively common surname found primarily in County Cork and County Kerry, located in the southwestern region of Ireland. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 16th century, although it is likely that the name existed in various spellings and forms before that time.

One of the earliest known references to the name Hegarty can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of Irish history compiled in the early 17th century. The annals mention several individuals with the surname, including Donal Hegarty, a prominent figure in the Irish Confederate Wars of the 1640s.

In the late 17th century, during the period of the Williamite War in Ireland, a notable bearer of the name was Donough Hegarty, a Catholic priest who served as a chaplain in the Jacobite army. He was captured and executed by the Williamite forces in 1691.

Another historically significant figure with the surname Hegarty was William Hegarty (1789-1857), an Irish Catholic priest and historian. He authored several works on Irish history and was a prominent figure in the Irish cultural revival movement of the 19th century.

In the 20th century, one of the most famous individuals with the surname Hegarty was Cornelius Hegarty (1909-1977), an Irish playwright and novelist. His works often explored themes of Irish identity and the struggles of the working class.

Additionally, John Hegarty (born 1944) is a well-known British advertising executive and co-founder of the advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH). He has been recognized for his innovative and influential work in the advertising industry.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hegarty

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Hegarty, 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!