2000
#143,847
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Henesey
An anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó hEidhnigh, meaning "descendant of Eidhnigh."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Henesey. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Henesey 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 Henesey with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Henesey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Henesey, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Henesey
The surname Henesey is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic name O'hÉinnsidhe. It is believed to have originated in County Clare, Ireland, in the late 12th century.
The name is thought to be derived from the Gaelic words "éan" meaning "bird" and "sidhe" meaning "fairy mound" or "fairy hill." This suggests that the name may have been associated with people who lived near or worked in areas associated with fairy mounds or hills.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Henesey can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. The Annals mention a member of the Henesey family, Diarmaid O'Hennessy, who was killed in a battle in County Clare in 1317.
In the 16th century, there are records of the Henesey family owning lands in County Clare, particularly in the baronies of Tulla and Bunratty. The name was also found in other parts of Ireland, including County Limerick and County Tipperary, possibly due to members of the family migrating to these areas.
Notable individuals with the surname Henesey include:
1. Patrick Henesey (c. 1600-1680), an Irish Catholic priest and historian who wrote about the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.
2. Dermot Henesey (c. 1650-1720), a member of the Irish Jacobite Parliament during the Williamite War in Ireland.
3. John Henesey (1795-1870), an Irish-born Australian politician and landowner in New South Wales.
4. Dermot Henesey (1865-1941), an Irish scholar and professor of Celtic languages at the National University of Ireland.
5. Maureen Henesey (1918-2007), an Irish-American author and journalist who wrote extensively about Irish culture and history.
The name Henesey has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Hennessy's Castle in County Clare, which was once owned by a branch of the Henesey family.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Henesey
Among Census respondents with the surname Henesey, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Henesey 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 Henesey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.7% · 104
- Two or more races2.7% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Henesey
Henesey 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
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,781 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+4 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,963 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #143,847 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 8,781 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.7%) | Up 3,963 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 Henesey 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 | #152,628 | #148,665 | 2.6% |
| Count | 107 | 111 | 3.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Henesey bearers went from 107 to 111 (+3.7% change). The surname moved up 3,963 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #148,665.
FAQ
Henesey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Henesey?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Henesey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Henesey?
Henesey ranks #148,665 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 111 people with the surname Henesey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Henesey.
Has Henesey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Henesey went from 107 recorded bearers to 111. That is an increase of 4 (+3.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #152,628 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Henesey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Henesey, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Henesey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.7% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Henesey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.7%), Two or More Races (2.7%), Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Henesey (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 Henesey mean?
An anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó hEidhnigh, meaning "descendant of Eidhnigh." 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 Henesey (0.04 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 common is the surname Henesey?
Find out how many people have the surname Henesey on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.