Find out how popular the last name O'Flaherty 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'Flaherty.

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

Popularity of O'Flaherty in America

O'Flaherty is the 20421st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The O'Flaherty surname appeared 1,301 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'Flaherty.

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

The surname O'Flaherty has its origins in Ireland, tracing back to the medieval period. It is an anglicized version of the Irish Gaelic name Ó Flathartaigh, which means "descendant of Flathartach." Flathartach was a personal name derived from the Old Irish word "flathri," meaning "prince" or "chief."

The O'Flahertys were a prominent Irish clan based in the region of Connemara, County Galway. They were a branch of the larger Muintir Murchadha (Clan Murphy) and held significant power and influence in the area during the Middle Ages. The name is closely associated with the town of Aughnanure, where the O'Flahertys had a strong presence and built a impressive castle in the 16th century.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the O'Flaherty name can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. The annals reference several notable members of the clan, including Donal O'Flaherty, who was killed in a battle in 1385.

In the 14th century, Muircheartach O'Flaherty was recorded as the Chief of Muintir Murchadha and played a significant role in the conflicts between the Irish and Anglo-Norman settlers in Connacht. Another notable figure was Ruaidhri O'Flaherty (c. 1629–1718), an Irish historian and chronicler who authored several important works, including "Ogygia" and "A Chorographical Description of West or H-Iar Connaught."

Other prominent individuals bearing the O'Flaherty surname include Roderic O'Flaherty (1784–1858), an Irish writer and historian; Liam O'Flaherty (1896–1984), a renowned Irish novelist and short story writer known for works like "The Informer" and "The Landord's Best War"; and Theophilus O'Flaherty (1753–1799), an Irish-born British Army officer who served during the American Revolutionary War.

The O'Flaherty name has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Ballynahinch Castle (Baile na hInse in Irish), which was once owned by the O'Flaherty clan, and the town of Oranmore (Úran Mór in Irish), which is believed to have derived its name from a combination of the Irish words "úr" (fresh) and "an mór" (the great), referring to the great freshwater springs in the area controlled by the O'Flahertys.

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

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

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'Flaherty 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'Flaherty 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'Flaherty 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'Flaherty, please contact us.

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