The Cahill surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 20,623 people carried this name — #1,737 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 14,300 people counted. That is up 2% from 20,181 in 2000.

See Cahill on the map Look up another surname

Share

Where the name comes from

The origin of the Cahill surname

Anglicized from Irish Ó Cathail.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Cahill» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 147 births for the Cahill name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Munster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 6,500 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Cork, Kerry, Dublin, Kilkenny, and Tipperary.”

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Munster 73
Leinster 54
Connacht 12
Ulster 8

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 64 people named Cahill live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 64

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

21 people named Cahill live in Switzerland.

They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Geneva 6
Vaud 6
Zurich 6
Zug 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In Scotland’s registers today

Cahill was recorded 15 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1427th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 12. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In print

Cahill in American newspapers,
1906–1927.

Newspaper page from The Cody Enterprise carrying the name Cahill
The Cody Enterprise 1927-06-01
Newspaper page from The Chattanooga News carrying the name Cahill
The Chattanooga News 1920-12-23
Newspaper page from The Wheatland World carrying the name Cahill
The Wheatland World 1906-01-19

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 2,232 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Cahill in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.

121,307 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Cahill. The most, 40,814, date from the 1950s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in the Australian Capital Territory, at 1.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 64,986
Queensland 19,959
Victoria 19,630
Western Australia 5,205
South Australia 4,192
ACT (Canberra) 3,961
Tasmania 2,817
Northern Territory 392

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Cahill.

Who carried it

People named Cahill,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Edward Cahill
    Edward Cahill 1843–1922 · judge
  • Samuel Cahill
    Samuel Cahill 1844–1910
  • William Geoffrey Cahill
    William Geoffrey Cahill 1854–1931 · soldier
  • Mabel Cahill
    Mabel Cahill 1863–1905 · tennis player
  • Ellen Cahill
    Ellen Cahill 1863–1934 · criminal

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 246 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Cahill,
in the records of 9 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States8,182 records

8,182 records of the Cahill name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 2,774
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 2,491
  • Other U.S. records 2,917
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Eugene F. Cahill

    Born 1922 in Illinois. Enlisted 1942 at East Lansing, Michigan; bakery worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1988, buried at Fort Custer National Cemetery, Michigan.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Katie Cahill

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Germanic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 22; servant. From Cork, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Daniel Francis Cahill

    Born 1947; from Center Line, Michigan. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1969 in Tay Ninh, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 8,182 records for Cahill in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia2,679 records

2,679 records of the Cahill name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,093
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 582
  • Other Australian records 1,004
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Bridget Cahill

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Australasia, sailing from Dublin in 1849. Native of Eyrecourt, Galway. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1851.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record John Cahill

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Hyderabad, sailing from Queenstown in 1850. Native of Kildare. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1852. Married 1852 in Richmond, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Patrick Cahill

    Arrived in Queensland in 1886 aboard the Silhet, aged 21.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 2,679 records for Cahill in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada311 records

311 records of the Cahill name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 262
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 23
  • Other Canadian records 26
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Andrew Cahill

    Came to Ontario in 1874 aboard the N. Scotian, bound for Widder, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Lillian May Cahill

    Buried in 1992 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 90.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Thomas J. Cahill

    Died 1913 in Kentville, Kings, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 311 records for Cahill in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

New Zealand26 records

26 records of the Cahill name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 23
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Georgina Cahill

    Died 1990, aged 70; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Henry Edmond Cahill

    Buried in 1885 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Thomas Cahill

    Died 1939, aged 75; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 26 records for Cahill in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

United Kingdom26 records

26 records of the Cahill name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 21
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 4
  • Stirling Council burial records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Cahill

    Buried in 1915 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 56.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Bridget Cahill

    Buried in 1850 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 56.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record T. Cahill

    Gunner, Royal Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 26 records for Cahill in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Ireland5 records

5 records of the Cahill name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Cahill

    Died 1971, aged 84; buried at Rakerin, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record George Cahill

    Died 1840, aged 33; buried at White Chapel, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 5 records for Cahill in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands4 records

4 records of the Cahill name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 3
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Rose Winnefred Cahill

    Died 1953 in Ermelo, aged 85.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Mary Cahill

    In the population register of Venray; born 1875 in Newport.

    Open Archives, Gemeente Venray, gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 4 records for Cahill in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

France2 records

2 records of the Cahill name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Ellen Annie Cahill

    Born 1909 in Bordeaux (Gironde); died 1991 in Neuilly-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Cahill in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Belgium1 record

1 record of the Cahill name in Belgium Belgian civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Elisabeth Maria Cahill

    Died 1943 in Aalst; born 1875 in Donagh-More-Queenst, Ireland; nun.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Aalst (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Cahill.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Cahill is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Cahill volume
Scroll to Top