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

Treacy, 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 Treacy surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Treacy in America

Treacy is the 17428th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Treacy surname appeared 1,619 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 Treacy.

We can also compare 2010 data for Treacy 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 Treacy

The surname Treacy has its roots in Ireland, where it originated as an Anglicized form of the ancient Irish Gaelic name "O'Treasaigh." This name is derived from the word "treasach," meaning "quarrelsome" or "warlike." The Treacys were a prominent family in County Sligo, located in the northwestern region of Ireland.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname Treacy can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century. The annals reference several members of the Treacy clan, including Richard Treacy, who was killed in a battle in 1317.

In the 16th century, during the Tudor conquest of Ireland, the Treacy family played a significant role in the Irish resistance against English rule. John Treacy, born around 1550, was a notable figure in this conflict, leading Irish forces against the English in County Sligo.

The Treacy surname has also been recorded in various spellings throughout history, such as Treacy, Tracey, Trasy, and Tressy. These variations emerged due to regional dialects and the phonetic transcription of the name by English scribes.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Maynooth Treacy, born in County Sligo around 1420. He was a prominent landowner and chieftain of the Treacy clan.

Another notable figure was Sir Robert Treacy, born in 1588, who served as a soldier and military commander during the Irish Confederate Wars of the 1640s. He fought valiantly against the English forces and was eventually captured and executed in 1647.

In the 18th century, John Treacy (1670-1752) was a respected Catholic priest and scholar who taught at the Irish College in Paris, contributing to the preservation of Irish culture and education during a time of religious persecution in Ireland.

The Treacy surname has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Tressy, a townland in County Sligo, and Treacy's Wood, a forested area near the town of Boyle, also in County Sligo.

Throughout history, several other notable individuals have borne the Treacy surname, including Michael Treacy (1839-1904), an Irish-American politician and lawyer, and Austin Treacy (1902-1974), an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and member of the Irish Parliament.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Treacy

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

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

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

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