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Surnames by county · Munster

Most common surnames in County Kerry

O'Sullivan was the commonest surname in Co. Kerry in 1911: 12,201 people, about one resident in 13. It was followed by O'Connor, O'Shea, Murphy and McCarthy.

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'Sullivan 12,201 763 1 1
2 O'Connor 7,655 479 2 2
3 O'Shea 4,788 300 3 3
4 Murphy 3,856 241 4 4
5 McCarthy 2,929 183 5 5
6 Moriarty 2,285 143 6 6
7 Fitzgerald 2,234 140 7 12
8 O'Connell 2,182 137 8 7
9 Griffin 2,061 129 10 10
10 Foley 1,936 121 11 8
11 O'Donoghue 1,891 118 9 11
12 Walsh 1,888 118 12 9
13 Lynch 1,633 102 14 13
14 O'Leary 1,630 102 13 14
15 O'Mahony 1,550 97 16 16
16 Sheehan 1,545 97 17 18
17 Cronin 1,508 94 15 15
18 Brosnan 1,424 89 18 17
19 Clifford 1,422 89 19 20
20 Healy 1,305 82 21 21
21 O'Brien 1,300 81 20 19
22 Daly 1,224 77 22 22
23 Casey 1,219 76 24 23
24 Riordan 1,170 73 25 25
25 O'Neill 1,167 73 23 24

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 Kerry

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

  1. O'Shea 11.42× 4,788 people · 300 per 10,000
  2. O'Sullivan 9.27× 12,201 people · 763 per 10,000
  3. Griffin 7.46× 2,060 people · 129 per 10,000
  4. O'Connor 6.31× 7,655 people · 479 per 10,000
  5. Foley 6.03× 1,936 people · 121 per 10,000
  6. Sheehan 5.39× 1,544 people · 97 per 10,000
  7. Fitzgerald 4.82× 2,234 people · 140 per 10,000
  8. O'Leary 4.55× 1,630 people · 102 per 10,000
  9. O'Donoghue 4.48× 1,891 people · 118 per 10,000
  10. O'Connell 4.22× 2,182 people · 137 per 10,000

Questions about surnames in Kerry

What is the most common surname in County Kerry?

In the 1911 census the most common surname in Co. Kerry was O'Sullivan, with 12,201 people, or about one resident in 13. The next most common were O'Connor, O'Shea, Murphy and McCarthy. O'Sullivan was still the commonest name in 1926.

Which surnames are most typical of County Kerry?

Compared with Ireland as a whole, the names most over-represented in Co. Kerry in 1911 (among the 100 commonest Irish surnames) were O'Shea (11.42× the national rate), O'Sullivan (9.27× the national rate), Griffin (7.46× the national rate).

Ancestors from County Kerry?

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

Kerry records on irishcensus.com