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

Walsh, 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 Walsh surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Walsh in America

Walsh is the 295th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Walsh surname appeared 105,079 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 36 people would have the surname Walsh.

We can also compare 2010 data for Walsh 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 Walsh

The surname WALSH is of Anglo-Irish origin, deriving from the Old English word "walsh" meaning "foreigner" or "stranger". It is believed to have originated in the 12th century, when Anglo-Norman settlers arrived in Ireland and established themselves as rulers over the native Irish population.

The name was initially given as a nickname or descriptive term to distinguish these newcomers from the local inhabitants. Over time, it became a hereditary surname, passing down through generations of families.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the WALSH surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in England, dating back to 1182. This document mentions a "Walter le Waleys", which is an early variant spelling of the name.

In Ireland, the WALSH surname is particularly associated with the counties of Kilkenny, Tipperary, and Waterford, where many prominent WALSH families established their power and influence during the Middle Ages.

One notable figure was Sir John WALSH (c. 1510-1582), a wealthy landowner and politician from Waterford who served as Mayor of the city. Another was Patrick WALSH (1597-1629), a Franciscan friar and Archbishop of Cashel, who played a significant role in the Counter-Reformation in Ireland.

In the 17th century, during the Confederate Wars and Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, several WALSH families were prominent leaders in the Irish Catholic Confederacy, including Walter WALSH (c. 1595-1659), a member of the Supreme Council of the Confederacy.

The WALSH surname also has a strong presence in other parts of the world, including the United States and Australia, where many Irish immigrants settled in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Some other notable individuals with the WALSH surname throughout history include:

1. William WALSH (1663-1708), an English poet and critic.
2. Robert WALSH (1772-1852), an American author and diplomat.
3. Michael WALSH (1810-1859), an Irish-American journalist and politician.
4. Joseph WALSH (1835-1869), an Irish-Australian explorer and naturalist.
5. William WALSH (1861-1921), an American Roman Catholic bishop.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Walsh

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

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!