Tarmey last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Tarmey

A surname derived from a place name, possibly referring to someone from Tarmey, England.

Tarmey, 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 Tarmey surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tarmey in America

Tarmey is the 102688th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tarmey surname appeared 175 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Tarmey.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tarmey 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 102688 95567 7.18%
Count 175 177 -1.14%
Proportion per 100k 0.06 0.07 -15.38%

The history of the last name Tarmey

The surname Tarmey has its origins in Ireland, specifically in the region of Ulster. It is believed to have derived from the Gaelic personal name Tormaidh, which itself is a variant of the name Tormod or Tormot. These names are thought to stem from the Norse name Þórmóðr, meaning "Thor's brave one."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Tarmey surname appears in the Ulster Plantation Rolls of the early 17th century, where it is listed as Tarmey and Tarmay. These records document the settlement of English and Scottish Protestant planters in the Irish province of Ulster during the Plantation of Ulster, a organized colonization effort overseen by King James I.

The Tarmey surname is also found in various forms in historical records from County Donegal, where it may have evolved from the Gaelic name Ó Tarmadaigh or Ó Tarmadaigh. This name is believed to be derived from the Irish word "tarmad," meaning "crossing" or "passing through."

In the 17th century, a notable figure bearing the Tarmey surname was Patrick Tarmey, a Catholic priest from County Donegal who was executed in 1654 during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland for his involvement in the Irish Confederate Wars.

Another prominent individual with the Tarmey surname was John Tarmey (1907-1976), an Irish-American labor union leader who served as the president of the National Maritime Union from 1945 to 1973.

Brian Tarmey (1947-2020) was a British actor and writer best known for his roles in television shows such as Coronation Street and Brookside.

Kathleen Tarmey (1946-2014) was an Irish poet and novelist whose works often explored themes of identity, memory, and the Irish diaspora.

In the realm of sports, Liam Tarmey (born 1982) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) from 2001 to 2009.

Overall, the Tarmey surname has a rich history rooted in Ireland, particularly in the regions of Ulster and Donegal, with various spellings and derivations reflecting its Gaelic and Norse origins. It has been borne by notable figures across different fields, from religion and labor movements to literature and sports.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tarmey

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

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 Tarmey was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 97.14% 170
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 0.00% 0

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 97.14% 99.44% -2.34%
Black 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Hispanic 0.00% (S)% (S)%

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

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Tarmey last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 24, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/tarmey-surname-popularity/.

"Tarmey last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/tarmey-surname-popularity/. Accessed 24 October, 2025

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

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