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

Scully, 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 Scully surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Scully in America

Scully is the 4060th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Scully surname appeared 8,747 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Scully.

We can also compare 2010 data for Scully 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 Scully

The surname Scully originated in Ireland, with its roots tracing back to the Irish Gaelic name Ó Scolaidhe, meaning "descendant of the scholar." This name was prominent in County Westmeath, and it is believed to have emerged as a hereditary surname around the 10th or 11th century.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Scully can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century. The annals mention several individuals with the surname Scully, including Maoileachlainn Ó Scolaidhe, who was the chief of the Uí Laoghaire sept in County Westmeath in the 14th century.

The Scully surname also appears in various historical records and manuscripts from the medieval period, such as the Pipe Rolls of the 13th century and the Fiants of the 16th century. These records often refer to individuals with the name Scully or its variant spellings, such as Sculley, Scullie, or O'Scully.

One notable figure in Irish history with the surname Scully was Sir John Scully (1592-1646), a member of the Irish Parliament and a prominent landowner in County Dublin. Another prominent individual was Denis Scully (1773-1856), an Irish lawyer and politician who served as the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland.

Other notable individuals with the Scully surname include:

1. Vincent Scully (1920-2017), an American architect, writer, and educator who was considered one of the most influential architectural historians of the 20th century.

2. Vin Scully (1927-2022), an American sportscaster who was best known for his 67-season tenure broadcasting for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Major League Baseball.

3. Dana Scully, the fictional character played by Gillian Anderson in the popular television series "The X-Files."

4. John Scully (1744-1805), an Irish-born American clergyman who served as the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Charleston, South Carolina.

5. John Scully (1740-1818), an Irish-born American merchant and politician who served as the second Governor of Pennsylvania from 1808 to 1817.

While the Scully surname has its roots in Ireland, it has since spread to various parts of the world due to Irish emigration, particularly during the 19th century. Today, the name is found not only in Ireland but also in other countries with significant Irish diaspora populations, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Scully

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

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

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

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