2010
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Heraghty
A surname of Irish origin meaning "descendant of the wanderer or traveller".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Heraghty. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heraghty 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 Heraghty with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Heraghty in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heraghty, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heraghty
The surname Heraghty originates from Ireland and can be traced back to the 11th century. It is believed to have originated in County Meath and is an anglicized version of the Gaelic surname Ó hEaragáin, meaning "descendant of Earagán." Earagán is derived from the Irish word "earag," meaning "jealous" or "vigilant."
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name is found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which refers to a man named Máel Muire Ua hEaragáin (Mulvey O'Herraghty) who was slain in 1156. The name also appears in the Irish Annals of the Four Masters, a 17th-century chronicle of Irish history, where it is recorded that a Domhnall Ó hEaragáin (Donald O'Herraghty) was a member of the clergy in the 14th century.
The name Heraghty is closely associated with County Meath, particularly in the baronies of Slane and Duleek. Many Heraghtys were landowners and prominent figures in these areas during the Middle Ages. The surname has also been found in various spellings, such as Herraghty, Harrighty, and Herreghty, reflecting the phonetic variations and regional dialects of Ireland.
Notable individuals with the surname Heraghty include:
1. Thomas Heraghty (1861-1914), an Irish-American businessman and politician who served as the 18th Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri.
2. Eugene Heraghty (1893-1975), an Irish civil servant and diplomat who served as the first Secretary-General of the Department of External Affairs (now the Department of Foreign Affairs) in Ireland.
3. Bridget Heraghty (fl. 1785-1810), an Irish noblewoman and landowner who was involved in a legal dispute over the inheritance of her family's estates in County Meath.
4. James Francis Heraghty (1895-1957), an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the Bishop of Grand Island, Nebraska from 1951 until his death.
5. John Heraghty (1852-1923), an Irish-American journalist and writer who served as the editor of the San Francisco Chronicle from 1894 to 1913.
The surname Heraghty has a rich history rooted in medieval Ireland, with a strong connection to County Meath and a legacy of prominent individuals across various fields.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heraghty
Among Census respondents with the surname Heraghty, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Heraghty 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 Heraghty surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.9% · 112
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 4
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heraghty
Heraghty appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+15 bearers (+14.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 13,723 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | +15 bearers (+14.6%) | Up 13,723 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 Heraghty 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 | #157,234 | #143,511 | 8.7% |
| Count | 103 | 118 | 14.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 31.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heraghty bearers went from 103 to 118 (+14.6% change). The surname moved up 13,723 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #143,511.
FAQ
Heraghty surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heraghty?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Heraghty. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Heraghty?
Heraghty ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Heraghty. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Heraghty.
Has Heraghty become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heraghty went from 103 recorded bearers to 118. That is an increase of 15 (+14.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Heraghty?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heraghty, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Heraghty in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.9% (112 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heraghty appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.9%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Heraghty (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 Heraghty mean?
A surname of Irish origin meaning "descendant of the wanderer or traveller". 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 Heraghty (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 many people have the surname Heraghty?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.