Find out how popular the last name Hennessey is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Hennessey.
Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó hAonghusa, meaning "descendant of Aonghus," derived from the Irish name meaning "one choice."
Hennessey, 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 Hennessey surname is from the 2010 census data.
Hennessey is the 4245th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Hennessey surname appeared 8,357 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Hennessey.
We can also compare 2010 data for Hennessey 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.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
Rank | 4245 | 4076 | 4.06% |
Count | 8,357 | 8,036 | 3.92% |
Proportion per 100k | 2.83 | 2.98 | -5.16% |
The surname Hennessey originates from Ireland, where it emerged in the 16th century. It is an Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic surname Ó hAonghusa, derived from the personal name Aonghus, meaning "one choice" or "one strength."
This name is believed to have originated in County Cork, where the Ó hAonghusa clan was based. The earliest recorded instances of the name appear in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century.
One notable early bearer of the name was Rory Hennessey, a 16th-century Irish chieftain who fought against English forces during the Tudor conquest of Ireland. Another historical figure was Bartholomew Hennessey, a 17th-century Catholic priest who was executed during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.
In the 18th century, the name Hennessey gained prominence with the success of the Hennessy Cognac brand, founded by Richard Hennessy, an Irish officer in the French army. The brand's popularity helped to spread the name throughout Europe and beyond.
Other notable individuals with the surname Hennessey include:
The surname Hennessey has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, including Hennessy, Henesey, and Hennesy. Some of these variations reflect regional pronunciations or attempts to Anglicize the name further.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Hennessey.
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:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Hennessey was:
Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
---|---|---|
Non-Hispanic White Only | 94.69% | 7,913 |
Non-Hispanic Black Only | 0.77% | 64 |
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | 0.67% | 56 |
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.22% | 18 |
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | 1.28% | 107 |
Hispanic Origin | 2.38% | 199 |
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 Hennessey has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
White | 94.69% | 95.93% | -1.30% |
Black | 0.77% | 0.86% | -11.04% |
Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.67% | 0.58% | 14.40% |
American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.22% | 0.17% | 25.64% |
Two or More Races | 1.28% | 1.10% | 15.13% |
Hispanic | 2.38% | 1.36% | 54.55% |
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 Hennessey was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Hennessey, please contact us.
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<a href="http://namecensus.com/last-names/hennessey-surname-popularity/">Hennessey last name popularity, history, and meaning</a>
"Hennessey last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 11, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/hennessey-surname-popularity/.
"Hennessey last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/hennessey-surname-popularity/. Accessed 11 December, 2024
Hennessey last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/hennessey-surname-popularity/.
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