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

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

Popularity of O'Sullivan in America

O'Sullivan is the 3032nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The O'Sullivan surname appeared 11,818 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname O'Sullivan.

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

The surname OSULLIVAN originated in Ireland and dates back to the 10th century. It is an Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name Ó Súilleabháin, which means "descendant of Súilleabhán". The prefix "Ó" indicates "grandson" or "descendant".

The name is derived from the Old Irish personal name Súilleabhán, which is a compound of the elements "súil" meaning "eye" and "leabhán" meaning "little calf". This suggests that the original bearer of the name may have had some distinctive eye features or was particularly observant.

OSULLIVAN is a prominent surname in Ireland, particularly in the counties of Cork and Kerry. The name first appears in the Annals of Inisfallen, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, in the year 1028.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Domhnall Ó Súilleabháin, who was the chief of the OSULLIVAN clan in the 14th century. The clan was based in the Beara Peninsula and the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry.

In the 16th century, Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare was a prominent leader of the O'Sullivan Beare clan during the Elizabethan conquest of Ireland. He led the famous O'Sullivan Beare's march in 1602, a remarkable 600-mile journey through the winter wilderness to seek refuge in Ulster.

Other notable figures with the surname OSULLIVAN include Theobald O'Sullivan, an Irish Jesuit and philosopher (1548-1608), and Owen Roe O'Sullivan, an Irish military leader who fought for the Catholic Confederation during the Irish Confederate Wars (1604-1657).

In the 18th century, Seán Ó Súilleabháin was a renowned Irish poet and scribe, also known as John O'Sullivan (1752-1809). Seamus Osullivan, an Irish writer and journalist, was born in 1879 and is known for his contributions to the Irish literary revival.

The name OSULLIVAN has also been carried by notable figures outside of Ireland, such as John L. O'Sullivan, an American writer and editor who coined the phrase "Manifest Destiny" in 1845, advocating for the annexation of Texas and the Oregon Country.

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

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

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'Sullivan 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'Sullivan 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'Sullivan 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'Sullivan, please contact us.

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