2000
#11,971
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,394
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.89
Rare Last name
Toohey
Derived from the Irish Gaelic Ó Tuathaigh, meaning "descendant of Tuathach," a personal name meaning "ruler of the people."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,831 Americans carry the last name Toohey. That puts it at #12,062 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 121,072 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Toohey surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Toohey with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.8K
1 in 121,072
Census rank
#12,062
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,469 bearers of the surname Toohey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12062nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Toohey, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Toohey
The surname Toohey originated in Ireland. It is an anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó Tuathchair, which means "descendant of Tuathachar". The name is derived from the Irish Gaelic word "tuath", meaning "territory" or "people", and the diminutive suffix "-char".
The earliest known records of the name appear in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. The Annals mention several members of the Ó Tuathchair family from County Mayo in the 13th and 14th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Aodh Ó Tuathchair, a prominent chieftain who lived in the late 13th century. He is mentioned in the Annals of Loch Cé, a manuscript dating back to the 14th century.
In the 16th century, the name appeared in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, a collection of royal letters and orders issued by the English monarchs during their rule over Ireland. The records mention a Richard O'Toohy who was granted lands in County Mayo in 1586.
During the 17th century, the spelling of the name began to evolve into its modern form, Toohey. One notable figure from this period was John Toohey, a Catholic priest who was executed in 1645 during the Confederate Wars in Ireland.
Another historical figure with this surname was Sir James Toohey, an Irish soldier who served in the British Army during the 18th century. He fought in the American Revolutionary War and was later appointed as the Governor of Grenada in 1789.
In the 19th century, the name Toohey appeared in various records and manuscripts, including the Ordnance Survey of Ireland, which documented the placenames and geographic features of the country. The survey recorded several townlands and localities with names derived from Ó Tuathchair, such as Toohey's Cross and Toohey's Bog.
One of the most famous individuals with the surname Toohey was John Toohey, an Irish-American labor leader who played a crucial role in the founding of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in 1886. He was born in 1856 and served as the organization's first president until his death in 1923.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Toohey
Among Census respondents with the surname Toohey, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Toohey bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Toohey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 2,293
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 90
- Two or more races2.5% · 61
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Toohey
Toohey appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#11,942
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,618
+224 bearers (+9.4%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Up 29 places
2020
#12,062
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,469
-149 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Down 120 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,971 | 2,394 | 0.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,942 | 2,618 | 0.89 | +224 bearers (+9.4%) | Up 29 places |
| 2020 | #12,062 | 2,469 | 0.83 | -149 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 120 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Toohey surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #11,942 | #12,062 | -1.0% |
| Count | 2,618 | 2,469 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.89 | 0.83 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Toohey bearers went from 2,618 to 2,469 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 120 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,942 to #12,062.
FAQ
Toohey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Toohey?
Name Census estimates that about 2,831 living Americans carry the surname Toohey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 121,072 residents.
How common is Toohey?
Toohey ranks #12,062 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.83 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,469 people with the surname Toohey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,831), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.83 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Toohey.
Has Toohey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Toohey went from 2,618 recorded bearers to 2,469. That is a decrease of 149 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,942 to #12,062.
What does the Census say about the background of Toohey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Toohey, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Toohey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (2,293 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Toohey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (2.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Toohey (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Toohey mean?
Derived from the Irish Gaelic Ó Tuathaigh, meaning "descendant of Tuathach," a personal name meaning "ruler of the people." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Toohey (0.83 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Toohey?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.