The Duffy surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 38,835 people carried this name — #892 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 7,590 people counted. That is up 2% from 37,962 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Duffy surname
A surname from Irish, an anglicization of Ó Dubhthaigh (“descendant of Dubhthach”). Dubhthach is a byname derived from dubh (“black”).
From the Irish surname, from Ó Dubhthaigh (literally “descendant of Dubhthach”) and Mac Duibhshíthe (literally “son of Duibhshíth”), from dubh (“black”) + sìth (“peace”), comparable to the surname Duff.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Duffy» (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 305 births for the Duffy name in 1890.
They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 13,500 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 23 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born, 1890
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 170 people named Duffy 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.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 167 people named Duffy.
17 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 17 départements, most often Rhône.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
26 people named Duffy live in Switzerland.
They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
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 Poland’s population register
24 people named Duffy have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 56 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 5 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Greater Poland.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
70 people named Duffy is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Duffy in American newspapers,
1868–1940.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 350,134 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Duffy,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Miguel Duffy 1845–1925 · politician -
Michael Duffy 1848–1926 · politician -
Hugh Duffy 1866–1954 · baseball player -
George Duffy 1887–1941 · politician -
F. Ryan Duffy 1888–1979 · judge
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 242 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Duffy.
- Due 1,509 · U.S. census
- Duet 1,413 · U.S. census
- Duez 162 · U.S. census
- Dufer 115 · U.S. census
- Duffey 6,251 · U.S. census
- Duffner 498 · U.S. census
- Duflo 143 · U.S. census
- Dufort 650 · U.S. census
- Dufour 4,647 · U.S. census
- Dufraine 112 · U.S. census
- Dufrane 535 · U.S. census
- Dufrene 3,115 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Duffy 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.