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Surnames by county · Ulster

Most common surnames in County Cavan

O'Reilly was the commonest surname in Co. Cavan in 1911: 5,835 people, about one resident in 16. It was followed by Smith, Brady, McGovern and Lynch.

Counts are people living in the county on census night, with spelling variants combined (Sullivan and O'Sullivan count as one name).

Donegal Waterford Dublin Kilkenny Carlow Limerick Louth Tipperary Roscommon Meath Wicklow Cavan Cork Clare Galway Mayo Sligo Leitrim Offaly Laois Kildare Kerry Monaghan Wexford Longford Westmeath Tyrone Antrim Armagh Fermanagh Londonderry Down

The 25 commonest names, 1911

#SurnamePeoplePer 10,00019011926
1 O'Reilly 5,835 639 1 1
2 Smith 5,001 548 2 2
3 Brady 3,421 375 3 3
4 McGovern 2,017 221 4 4
5 Lynch 1,914 210 5 5
6 Clarke 1,470 161 6 6
7 McCabe 1,291 141 8 7
8 Maguire 1,234 135 7 8
9 Sheridan 1,179 129 9 9
10 Fitzpatrick 1,103 121 10 11
11 Farrelly 1,083 119 11 10
12 Dolan 1,039 114 12 12
13 O'Donoghue 1,026 112 13 13
14 Galligan 768 84 14 14
15 Martin 540 59 16 15
16 Gaffney 533 58 15 16
17 Murray 516 57 22 18
18 McHugh 488 53 19 21
19 Johnston 485 53 18 27
20 Coyle 479 52 17 26
21 McDonald 475 52 21 22
22 McManus 467 51 23 17
23 Fitzsimons 459 50 20 20
24 Carolan 447 49 24 19
25 Kiernan 441 48 26 —

The 1901 and 1926 columns give the name's rank in the county in that year; a dash means it was outside the top 40. Linked names have a full page with meaning, Irish forms and history.

Names most typical of Cavan

Among the 100 commonest Irish surnames, these were the most over-represented in Co. Cavan in 1911, compared with their share of Ireland's population as a whole.

  1. Brady 15.3× 3,421 people · 375 per 10,000
  2. O'Reilly 11.5× 5,835 people · 639 per 10,000
  3. Smith 7.51× 5,001 people · 548 per 10,000
  4. Fitzpatrick 5.51× 1,103 people · 121 per 10,000
  5. Lynch 5.22× 1,914 people · 210 per 10,000
  6. Clarke 4.72× 1,470 people · 161 per 10,000
  7. Maguire 4.66× 1,234 people · 135 per 10,000
  8. O'Donoghue 4.26× 1,026 people · 112 per 10,000
  9. McDonald 2.93× 475 people · 52 per 10,000
  10. Martin 1.92× 540 people · 59 per 10,000

Questions about surnames in Cavan

What is the most common surname in County Cavan?

In the 1911 census the most common surname in Co. Cavan was O'Reilly, with 5,835 people, or about one resident in 16. The next most common were Smith, Brady, McGovern and Lynch. O'Reilly was still the commonest name in 1926.

Which surnames are most typical of County Cavan?

Compared with Ireland as a whole, the names most over-represented in Co. Cavan in 1911 (among the 100 commonest Irish surnames) were Brady (15.3× the national rate), O'Reilly (11.5× the national rate), Smith (7.51× the national rate).

Ancestors from County Cavan?

Browse every townland and household in Co. Cavan in the 1901, 1911 and 1926 censuses.

Cavan records on irishcensus.com