Reardon last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Reardon

A surname of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic "Ó Ríoghbhardáin," meaning "descendant of Ríoghbhardán" (royal poet).

Reardon, 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 Reardon surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Reardon in America

Reardon is the 2509th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Reardon surname appeared 14,435 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Reardon.

We can also compare 2010 data for Reardon 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 2509 2320 7.83%
Count 14,435 14,287 1.03%
Proportion per 100k 4.89 5.30 -8.05%

The history of the last name Reardon

The surname Reardon is of Irish origin and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is an Anglicized version of the Gaelic name O'Riordain, which means 'descendant of the ruddy one' or 'son of the red-haired man'. The name was prominent in County Cork and County Kerry, particularly in the baronies of Duhallow and West Muskerry.

The earliest recorded spelling of the name was found in the Fiants of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth I, where it appeared as O'Riordane in the year 1599. Other early variations included O'Riordyn, O'Reyredane, and Ryerdon. The name was also recorded in the Hearth Money Rolls of 1665, which were tax records for County Cork.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Donough Reardon, who was a member of the Irish Parliament for the constituency of Doneraile in County Cork in the late 17th century. Another notable figure was Reverend John Reardon, who was born in County Cork in 1713 and served as the vicar of Kilkenny and the Dean of Ferns in the Church of Ireland.

In the 18th century, the name Reardon was associated with the village of Castletownroche in County Cork, which was once known as Reardon's Town or Reardanstown. There was also a Reardon's Castle in the nearby town of Killavullen, which belonged to a branch of the Reardon family.

During the 19th century, several members of the Reardon family made their mark in various fields. Patrick Reardon (1823-1893) was a prominent Irish Nationalist and Member of Parliament for the constituency of East Cork. His cousin, James Reardon (1830-1897), was a renowned lawyer and judge who served as the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland.

Another notable figure was Timothy Reardon (1828-1904), who was a Catholic priest and educator. He founded the Christian Brothers' School in Tralee, County Kerry, and was instrumental in the establishment of several other schools in the region. Meanwhile, John Reardon (1860-1933) was a renowned architect who designed several notable buildings in Dublin, including the National Library of Ireland.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Reardon

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Reardon.

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 Reardon was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 94.42% 13,630
Non-Hispanic Black Only 1.27% 183
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.50% 72
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.20% 29
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.39% 201
Hispanic Origin 2.21% 319

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 Reardon has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 94.42% 95.70% -1.35%
Black 1.27% 1.14% 10.79%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.50% 0.43% 15.05%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.20% 0.20% 0.00%
Two or More Races 1.39% 1.05% 27.87%
Hispanic 2.21% 1.47% 40.22%

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 Reardon was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Reardon, 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!

"Reardon last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 21, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/reardon-surname-popularity/.

"Reardon last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/reardon-surname-popularity/. Accessed 21 November, 2024

Reardon last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/reardon-surname-popularity/.

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.