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

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

Popularity of O'Hearn in America

O'Hearn is the 11529th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The O'Hearn surname appeared 2,728 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname O'Hearn.

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

The surname OHEARN has its origins in Ireland, dating back to the 12th century. It is an anglicized version of the Gaelic name Ó hEachaidh, which means "descendant of Eachaidh." Eachaidh was a popular Irish personal name derived from the word "eachaidh," meaning "horseman" or "horse soldier."

The OHEARN name was originally concentrated in the counties of Sligo and Mayo in the province of Connacht, where the Ó hEachaidh clan held territories. The surname underwent various spelling variations over time, including O'Hegherne, O'Heherne, and O'Hearne, before settling on the modern form of OHEARN.

One of the earliest recorded references to the OHEARN name can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. The annals mention an Eachaidh Ó hEachaidh who was a prominent chieftain in Sligo in the 13th century.

In the 16th century, the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, a collection of administrative records from the Tudor period in Ireland, included entries for individuals with the OHEARN surname. One such entry from 1588 referred to a pardon granted to Donill O'Hegherne of Sligo.

A notable bearer of the OHEARN name was Patrick O'Hearn (1642-1701), an Irish Franciscan friar and historian who served as the Guardian of the Irish College in Louvain, Belgium. He authored several works on Irish history and theology.

Another significant figure was John O'Hearn (1786-1859), an Irish-American businessman and philanthropist from County Mayo. He established a successful shipping company in New York and donated generously to Catholic institutions and charitable causes.

In the literary realm, James O'Hearn (1844-1910) was an Irish-American poet and journalist. Born in County Sligo, he immigrated to the United States and worked for various newspapers, publishing several collections of poetry.

The OHEARN surname has also been associated with place names in Ireland, such as Ballynohern (Baile na hÉarna) in County Westmeath, which translates to "townland of the O'Hearns."

Other notable bearers of the OHEARN name include Michael O'Hearn (1804-1868), an Irish-American politician who served as Mayor of Boston, and John O'Hearn (1891-1975), an Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club in the early 20th century.

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

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

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'Hearn 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'Hearn 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'Hearn 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'Hearn, please contact us.

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