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

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

Popularity of O'Grady in America

O'Grady is the 4831st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The O'Grady surname appeared 7,306 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 O'Grady.

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

The surname O'Grady is of Irish origin, tracing its roots back to County Limerick in Ireland. It is derived from the Gaelic name "O'Gradaigh," which means "descendant of Grádaigh." The prefix "O'" indicates that it is a patronymic surname, indicating the descendant of an individual named Grádaigh.

The name Grádaigh is believed to have originated from the Irish word "gráda," which means "illustrious" or "noble." This suggests that the O'Grady family may have held a prominent position or status in their local community during the early days of Irish history.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the O'Grady surname can be found in the Annals of Inisfallen, a chronicle of Irish history dating back to the 12th century. The annals mention an individual named Aedh O'Grady, who was described as the "chief professor of Munster" in 1151.

Another notable historical reference to the O'Grady name comes from the Annals of the Four Masters, a 17th-century chronicle of medieval Irish history. In these annals, there is a record of Dermot O'Grady, who was appointed as the Bishop of Elphin in 1416.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the O'Grady family was prominent in County Limerick, where they held significant landholdings and estates. One notable member of the family was Darby O'Grady, who was born in 1590 and served as a member of the Irish Parliament.

In the 18th century, the O'Grady family continued to play a prominent role in Irish society. Standish O'Grady, born in 1766, was a renowned historian and author who wrote extensively about Irish history and mythology.

Other notable individuals with the O'Grady surname include Hardress O'Grady (1866-1944), an Irish-Australian journalist and writer; Thomas O'Grady (1859-1935), an Irish-American educator and politician; and James O'Grady (1866-1934), an Irish-American journalist and author.

While the O'Grady name has its origins in County Limerick, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly through Irish immigration to countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia.

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

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

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'Grady 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'Grady 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'Grady 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'Grady, please contact us.

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