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

Laffey, 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 Laffey surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Laffey in America

Laffey is the 18347th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Laffey surname appeared 1,510 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Laffey.

We can also compare 2010 data for Laffey 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 Laffey

The surname Laffey has its origins in Ireland, with the earliest records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Irish Gaelic word "láf," which means "hand" or "palm." This suggests that the name may have been originally given as a descriptive nickname to someone with large or distinctive hands.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name Laffey can be found in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, a collection of official documents from the reign of Henry VIII and his successors. In these records, a person named Patrick Laffey is mentioned in relation to land grants in County Westmeath, Ireland, in the year 1591.

The Laffey surname has also been historically associated with County Mayo in the West of Ireland. In the 17th century, several Laffey families were recorded as living in the parish of Killala, which was part of the old Barony of Erris. This connection to County Mayo is further reinforced by the existence of the townland of Laffey, located near the town of Ballina.

Notable individuals with the surname Laffey include John Laffey, an Irish-American politician who served as the Mayor of Yonkers, New York, from 1892 to 1896. Another prominent figure was Michael Laffey (1857-1935), an Irish-born Catholic priest who served as the Bishop of Brooklyn from 1904 until his death.

In the realm of literature, the name Laffey is associated with the Irish writer and journalist James Laffey (1856-1928), who was a prominent figure in the Irish literary revival of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was a co-founder of the Gaelic League and a contributor to several influential publications, including The Leader and The United Irishman.

Another notable bearer of the name was Edward Laffey (1892-1965), an Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club in the Victorian Football League (now the Australian Football League) during the 1910s and 1920s. He was a member of Carlton's premiership-winning teams in 1914 and 1915.

While the spelling "Laffey" is the most common form of the surname, variants such as Laffay, Laffy, and Laffie have also been recorded throughout history. These variations likely emerged due to phonetic spelling or regional dialects in Ireland and other areas where the name was established.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Laffey

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

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

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

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