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

O'Brion, 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 O'Brion surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of O'Brion in America

O'Brion is the 60505th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The O'Brion surname appeared 333 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 O'Brion.

We can also compare 2010 data for O'Brion 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 O'Brion

The surname OBRION is of Irish origin, dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Gaelic name Ó Brádaighin, which means "descendant of Bradigan". The name Bradigan itself is thought to be derived from the old Irish word "brádag", meaning "thief" or "robber".

The OBRION family is believed to have originated in County Mayo, Ireland, where the name was first recorded. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century, which mentions an "O'Bradaghan" family.

In the 17th century, the name was sometimes anglicized as "O'Bradigan" or "O'Braddigan". During this time, the name was also found in various spellings, such as "O'Bradden" and "O'Braden".

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the OBRION surname was Terence O'Braddigan, who was born in County Mayo in the late 16th century. Another early bearer of the name was Patrick O'Bradden, a landowner in County Sligo, who was mentioned in the Hearth Money Rolls of 1665.

In the 18th century, the surname OBRION began to appear in its modern spelling. One notable figure from this period was Seán Ó Bradaigh (1670-1749), a poet and Irish language scholar from County Mayo.

Another prominent individual with the OBRION surname was Michael O'Brien (1796-1872), an Irish-born prelate who served as the first Catholic Bishop of Waterford and Lismore in Ireland.

In the 19th century, the name OBRION was also found among Irish immigrants to the United States and other countries. One such individual was Patrick O'Brien (1810-1891), an Irish-born politician who served as the 17th Governor of Michigan from 1865 to 1869.

Another notable bearer of the OBRION surname was Edna O'Brien (1930-present), an Irish novelist and memoirist known for her works exploring the inner lives of women and the societal constraints they face.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name O'Brion

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname O'Brion.

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 O'Brion 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 O'Brion 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 O'Brion was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!