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

Lally, 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 Lally surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lally in America

Lally is the 5931st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lally surname appeared 5,808 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 Lally.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lally 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 Lally

The surname Lally is believed to have originated in Ireland. It is thought to be an anglicized version of the Irish Gaelic name Ó Mulláilí, which means "descendant of Mulláile". The name Mulláile is a diminutive form of the personal name Muál, derived from the Old Irish word "mul" meaning "chief" or "leader".

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Lally can be traced back to County Sligo, Ireland in the 16th century. Historical records show that the Lallys were a prominent family in the area, holding lands and positions of authority. One notable member of the family was Turlough Lally, who served as a colonel in the Irish Confederate Wars of the 1640s.

During the 17th century, many members of the Lally family were forced to leave Ireland due to the Cromwellian conquest and the subsequent Penal Laws against Catholics. Some Lallys settled in France, where they found employment in the French military. One of the most famous Lallys was Thomas Arthur, Count Lally (1702-1766), who served as a French general and was the commander-in-chief of the French forces in India during the Seven Years' War.

Another notable Lally was Patrick Lally (1738-1789), an Irish Jacobite who fought for the French in the American Revolutionary War. He was captured by the British and later executed for his role in the conflict.

In the 19th century, the Lally surname began to spread beyond Ireland and France as members of the family immigrated to other parts of the world. One prominent figure was James Lally (1828-1897), an Irish-born Australian politician and businessman who served as the Mayor of Melbourne from 1889 to 1891.

Other notable individuals with the surname Lally include John Lally (1929-2018), an American actor best known for his role in the television series "The Untouchables", and Evelyn Lally (1909-1998), an English writer and artist who was a member of the Bloomsbury Group.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lally

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

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

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

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