surnames.ie

Surnames by county · Connacht

Most common surnames in County Galway

Kelly was the commonest surname in Co. Galway in 1911: 3,857 people, about one resident in 47. It was followed by Walsh, Burke, Conneely and Joyce.

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 Kelly 3,857 212 1 1
2 Walsh 3,539 194 2 2
3 Burke 3,269 179 3 3
4 Conneely 2,980 163 4 5
5 Joyce 2,640 145 5 4
6 McDonagh 2,540 139 6 6
7 Connolly 2,133 117 8 8
8 Flaherty 2,060 113 7 7
9 Mannion 1,901 104 9 9
10 Keane 1,746 96 11 10
11 Fahy 1,621 89 12 11
12 O'Connor 1,557 85 10 13
13 King 1,469 81 14 16
14 Murphy 1,468 81 13 12
15 Coyne 1,456 80 15 14
16 Folan 1,313 72 16 15
17 Faherty 1,218 67 18 35
18 Hynes 1,140 63 17 17
19 Glynn 1,117 61 19 19
20 O'Donoghue 1,107 61 21 18
21 Quinn 1,062 58 20 20
22 Forde 1,054 58 22 27
23 Ryan 1,049 58 24 25
24 Ward 1,007 55 23 21
25 Conroy 990 54 25 28

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 Galway

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

  1. King 4.76× 1,469 people · 81 per 10,000
  2. Keane 4.52× 1,746 people · 96 per 10,000
  3. Burke 4.23× 3,269 people · 179 per 10,000
  4. Connolly 3.63× 2,133 people · 117 per 10,000
  5. Higgins 2.94× 941 people · 52 per 10,000
  6. Curran 2.7× 811 people · 45 per 10,000
  7. Ward 2.57× 1,007 people · 55 per 10,000
  8. Walsh 2.3× 3,539 people · 194 per 10,000
  9. O'Donoghue 2.3× 1,107 people · 61 per 10,000
  10. Lyons 2.22× 700 people · 38 per 10,000

Questions about surnames in Galway

What is the most common surname in County Galway?

In the 1911 census the most common surname in Co. Galway was Kelly, with 3,857 people, or about one resident in 47. The next most common were Walsh, Burke, Conneely and Joyce. Kelly was still the commonest name in 1926.

Which surnames are most typical of County Galway?

Compared with Ireland as a whole, the names most over-represented in Co. Galway in 1911 (among the 100 commonest Irish surnames) were King (4.76× the national rate), Keane (4.52× the national rate), Burke (4.23× the national rate).

Ancestors from County Galway?

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

Galway records on irishcensus.com