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

Kilfoyle, 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 Kilfoyle surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kilfoyle in America

Kilfoyle is the 52037th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kilfoyle surname appeared 399 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Kilfoyle.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kilfoyle 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 Kilfoyle

The surname Kilfoyle is of Irish origin and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is an anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó Cillbhaoil, which means "descendant of Cillbhaol." The name Cillbhaol is derived from the Irish words "cill," meaning church, and "bhaol," meaning peril or danger.

The Kilfoyle family is believed to have originated in County Mayo, Ireland, specifically in the region of Erris. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Fiants of the 16th century, which were official records of the English administration in Ireland.

One of the earliest documented references to the name is found in the Annals of Loch Cé, a chronicle of Irish events from the 12th to the 17th century. In this record, a member of the Kilfoyle family is mentioned as having been involved in a battle in the year 1586.

Notable individuals with the surname Kilfoyle include John Kilfoyle (1849-1924), an Irish-American businessman and politician who served as the Mayor of Waterbury, Connecticut, from 1897 to 1899. Another prominent figure was James Kilfoyle (1887-1968), an American prelate who served as the Bishop of Cleveland from 1948 to 1966.

In the 19th century, the name Kilfoyle appeared in the birth and death records of counties such as Mayo, Sligo, and Galway in Ireland. Some variations of the spelling include Kilfoile, Kilfoil, and Kilfoyle.

Among the historical figures bearing this surname is Patrick Kilfoyle (1873-1942), an Irish-born American labor leader who played a significant role in organizing workers in the coal mining industry in the early 20th century. Bridget Kilfoyle (1856-1941) was an Irish immigrant to the United States who became a prominent philanthropist and advocate for women's rights in New York City.

Another notable individual was Michael Kilfoyle (1916-1995), an American academic and author who specialized in Irish literature and served as a professor at Fordham University for many years.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kilfoyle

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

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

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

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