2000
#5,664
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,619
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.08
Rare Last name
Meagher
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Meachair," meaning "descendant of the majestic one" or "proud one."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,305 Americans carry the last name Meagher. That puts it at #6,015 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 54,362 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Meagher 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 Meagher with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.3K
1 in 54,362
Census rank
#6,015
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,498 bearers of the surname Meagher in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6015th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Meagher, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Meagher
The surname Meagher is of Irish origin and can be traced back to the County Tipperary area of Ireland. It is an anglicized version of the Irish Gaelic name "Ó Meachair", which means "descendant of Meachair". Meachair is derived from the word "meacair", meaning "hospitable" or "affable".
The name first appeared in historical records in the 12th century, when it was commonly spelled "O'Meagher". It is believed that the Meagher clan was originally based in the territory of Ikerrin, which was located in what is now County Tipperary. The Meaghers were a prominent family in this region and played a significant role in Irish history.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is in the Annals of Inisfallen, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions a "Meagher of Ikerrin" in the year 1200. The name also appears in the Annals of the Four Masters, another important source for Irish history, in the 14th century.
In the 16th century, during the Tudor conquest of Ireland, the Meagher clan was involved in several conflicts with the English forces. One notable figure from this period was Thomas Meagher, who led a rebellion against the English in 1548. He was eventually captured and executed.
Another famous bearer of the name was Thomas Francis Meagher (1823-1867), an Irish revolutionary and leader of the Young Irelanders. He was a prominent figure in the Irish Rebellion of 1848 and was later transported to Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) as a convict. After his release, he emigrated to the United States and served as a Brigadier General in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Other notable Meaghers include William Meagher (1796-1874), an Irish politician and landowner, and John Francis Meagher (1824-1891), a Canadian businessman and politician who served as the first Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada.
The name Meagher has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Meaghers' Country, a region in County Tipperary, and Meagher's Fort, a historic site in County Cork.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Meagher
Among Census respondents with the surname Meagher, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Meagher 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 Meagher surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 5,094
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 178
- Two or more races2.3% · 129
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 50
- Black or African American0.5% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Meagher
Meagher 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
#5,951
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,784
+165 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 1.96
Rank movement Down 287 places
2020
#6,015
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,498
-286 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 1.84
Rank movement Down 64 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,664 | 5,619 | 2.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,951 | 5,784 | 1.96 | +165 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 287 places |
| 2020 | #6,015 | 5,498 | 1.84 | -286 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 64 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 Meagher 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 | #5,951 | #6,015 | -1.1% |
| Count | 5,784 | 5,498 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.96 | 1.84 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Meagher bearers went from 5,784 to 5,498 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 64 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,951 to #6,015.
FAQ
Meagher surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Meagher?
Name Census estimates that about 6,305 living Americans carry the surname Meagher. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 54,362 residents.
How common is Meagher?
Meagher ranks #6,015 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.84 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,498 people with the surname Meagher. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,305), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.84 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Meagher.
Has Meagher become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Meagher went from 5,784 recorded bearers to 5,498. That is a decrease of 286 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,951 to #6,015.
What does the Census say about the background of Meagher?
Among Census respondents with the surname Meagher, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Meagher in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (5,094 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Meagher appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Meagher (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 Meagher mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Meachair," meaning "descendant of the majestic one" or "proud one." 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 Meagher (1.84 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 are called Meagher?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Meagher, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.