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

Scannell, 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 Scannell surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Scannell in America

Scannell is the 11679th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Scannell surname appeared 2,684 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 Scannell.

We can also compare 2010 data for Scannell 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 Scannell

The surname SCANNELL is of Irish origin, deriving from the Gaelic ÓScannail, which translates to "descendant of Scannail." The name Scannail is thought to have been a personal name, perhaps a diminutive form of Scannal, which means "scandal" or "reproach." The name likely emerged in the late 11th or early 12th century in Ireland.

The SCANNELL surname is most prevalent in the counties of Cork, Kerry, and Limerick, suggesting that the name originated in the province of Munster. The earliest recorded spelling of the name appears to be O'Scannill, found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Donough O'Scannell, who was recorded as the Bishop of Raphoe in County Donegal in the year 1290. Another notable figure was John O'Scannell, a 16th-century poet and historian from County Limerick.

In the 17th century, a branch of the SCANNELL family settled in County Cork, where they became prominent landowners. One notable member of this branch was Patrick SCANNELL (1629-1691), who served as a member of the Irish Parliament and fought in the Williamite War in Ireland.

During the 19th century, the SCANNELL surname spread beyond Ireland due to the Great Famine and subsequent emigration. One notable figure from this period was Michael SCANNELL (1836-1917), an Irish-American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the New York State Assembly.

Another notable bearer of the name was Michael Vincent SCANNELL (1884-1963), an Irish-American prelate who served as the Bishop of Omaha, Nebraska, from 1948 until his retirement in 1960.

In more recent times, the name has been borne by individuals such as Terry SCANNELL (born 1937), an English actor and author known for his roles in television series like Z-Cars and Softly, Softly.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Scannell

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Scannell, please contact us.

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