2000
#3,283
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,014
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.71
Uncommon Last name
Lafferty
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Labhradha," meaning "descendant of Labhradha" (a personal name meaning "spokesman").
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,194 Americans carry the last name Lafferty. That puts it at #3,562 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.27 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 30,619 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lafferty 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 Lafferty with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 30,619
Census rank
#3,562
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.8K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,762 bearers of the surname Lafferty in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.27 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3562nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lafferty, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lafferty
The surname Lafferty has its origins in Ireland, where it was first recorded in the 16th century. It is believed to be an anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name "Ó Laifeartaigh" or "Ó Labhartaigh," which means "descendant of Laifeartach" or "descendant of Labhartach." The personal name Laifeartach or Labhartach is derived from the Old Norse name "Lôftr," meaning "praise" or "praise-worthy."
The name Lafferty is most closely associated with County Donegal in Ulster, where it was prominent among the Gaelic clans of that region. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Fiants of the Tudor sovereigns of England, which were official records of royal grants and pardons issued in Ireland during the 16th and 17th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Lafferty was Phelim Oge Lafferty, a landowner in County Donegal who was mentioned in the Fiants of 1602. Another early bearer of the name was Patrick Lafferty, who was born in County Donegal around 1610 and served as a soldier in the Irish Confederate Wars of the 1640s.
In the 18th century, the Lafferty name gained prominence through individuals such as Redmond Lafferty (1720-1790), a Catholic priest and scholar who taught at the Irish College in Paris, and Hugh Lafferty (1755-1841), a United Irishman and rebel leader who fought in the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
The 19th century saw the rise of several notable figures with the Lafferty surname, including James Lafferty (1818-1891), an Irish-born American Catholic priest and missionary who served in the Diocese of Detroit, and William Lafferty (1843-1921), an Irish-born Australian politician and member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia.
Other notable individuals with the surname Lafferty include Sir Colville Lafferty (1878-1957), a British civil servant and diplomat who served as Governor of Bermuda, and Michael Lafferty (1920-2011), an Irish Gaelic footballer and hurler who played for the Donegal senior teams in both sports.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lafferty
Among Census respondents with the surname Lafferty, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Lafferty 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 Lafferty surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.2% · 8,801
- Two or more races3.8% · 372
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 275
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 200
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 59
- Black or African American0.6% · 55
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lafferty
Lafferty 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
#3,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,373
+359 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 3.52
Rank movement Down 160 places
2020
#3,562
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,762
-611 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 3.27
Rank movement Down 119 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,283 | 10,014 | 3.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,443 | 10,373 | 3.52 | +359 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 160 places |
| 2020 | #3,562 | 9,762 | 3.27 | -611 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 119 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 Lafferty 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 | #3,443 | #3,562 | -3.5% |
| Count | 10,373 | 9,762 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 3.52 | 3.27 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lafferty bearers went from 10,373 to 9,762 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 119 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,443 to #3,562.
FAQ
Lafferty surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lafferty?
Name Census estimates that about 11,194 living Americans carry the surname Lafferty. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 30,619 residents.
How common is Lafferty?
Lafferty ranks #3,562 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.27 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,762 people with the surname Lafferty. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,194), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.27 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.27 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Lafferty.
Has Lafferty become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lafferty went from 10,373 recorded bearers to 9,762. That is a decrease of 611 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,443 to #3,562.
What does the Census say about the background of Lafferty?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lafferty, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Lafferty in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.2% (8,801 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lafferty appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.2%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Lafferty (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 Lafferty mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Labhradha," meaning "descendant of Labhradha" (a personal name meaning "spokesman"). 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 Lafferty (3.27 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 last name Lafferty?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Lafferty is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.