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

Irish, 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 Irish surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Irish in America

Irish is the 4813th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Irish surname appeared 7,336 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Irish.

We can also compare 2010 data for Irish 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 Irish

The surname Irish is thought to have originated in Scotland and Ireland. The name is believed to be derived from the Gaelic word "Eireannach," which means "Irish person" or "from Ireland." This suggests that the name was originally given as a descriptive surname to someone who had immigrated from Ireland to Scotland or another part of the British Isles.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Irish can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which were a series of homage rolls that documented those who swore fealty to King Edward I of England. In these rolls, a person named Gillecrist Irisshe is mentioned, which is likely an early spelling variation of the surname Irish.

Another early reference to the name can be found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from the 14th century. In these records, a person named William Iryssche is listed as having been granted lands in Dumfriesshire, Scotland.

One notable bearer of the Irish surname was John Irish, a 16th-century Scottish Protestant reformer and minister. He was born around 1505 and played a significant role in the establishment of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland.

In England, the Irish surname can be traced back to the 13th century. One early record mentions a man named Richard le Irissh, who was listed in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1292.

Another noteworthy individual with the Irish surname was John Irish, an English poet and playwright who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He is best known for his work "The Unfortunate Traveller or The Life of Jack Wilton," which was published in 1594.

In the United States, the Irish surname has been present since the colonial era. One of the earliest recorded instances is that of William Irish, who was born in Massachusetts in 1637 and later became a prominent landowner and militia officer in the town of Falmouth (now Portland, Maine).

Other notable individuals with the Irish surname include Jane Irish (1828-1896), an American philanthropist and advocate for women's rights, and John Irish (1879-1963), an American politician who served as the 57th Governor of Connecticut from 1935 to 1939.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Irish

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Irish, please contact us.

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