The Fitzgerald surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 75,356 people carried this name — #430 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 3,910 people counted. That is up 2% from 73,522 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Fitzgerald surname
A Hiberno-Norman surname originating as a patronymic.
From Fitz- + Gerald.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Fitzgerald» (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 330 births for the Fitzgerald 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 14,600 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 3 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 Switzerland’s population statistics
90 people named Fitzgerald live in Switzerland.
They live in 11 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 Argentina’s national register
At least 38 people named Fitzgerald 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 City of Buenos Aires.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where 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 23 people named Fitzgerald.
Most of them — 18 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 2 départements, most often Paris.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
23 people named Fitzgerald have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 78 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 6 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Lublin.
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
102 people named Fitzgerald are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
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) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Scotland’s registers today
Fitzgerald was recorded 23 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.
That made it the 1041st most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 22. 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 the first U.S. census, 1790
71 families named Fitzgerald, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.
Each family is counted by its head. About 382 people lived in those households, 5.4 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 23 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.
Families, by state
U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 240 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.
In print
Fitzgerald in American newspapers,
1911–1935.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 569,639 pages in all carry the name.
In print
Fitzgerald in Australian newspapers,
1800s–2000s.
264,161 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Fitzgerald. The most, 39,651, date from the 1910s.
Articles, by state
Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Fitzgerald.
Who carried it
People named Fitzgerald,
with a public archive behind them.
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Charles Fitzgerald 1792–1887 · naval officer -
Thomas Fitzgerald 1796–1855 · judge -
John Anster Fitzgerald 1819–1906 · painter -
Edward Fitzgerald 1833–1907 · Catholic priest -
Percy Hetherington Fitzgerald 1834–1925 · writer
Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 222 lives in all are documented under this name.
In the public record
People named Fitzgerald,
in the records of 8 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 States21,670 records
- Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 6,667
- New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 6,209
- Other U.S. records 8,794
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Example: U.S. war memorial War record Ronald Eugene FitzgeraldBorn 1950; from Auburn, Washington. U.S. Army, light air defense artillery crewmember; killed in action 1970 in Cambodia. Buried at Nashville National Cemetery, Tennessee.
U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: U.S. registration card, 1942 Military record James F. FitzgeraldBorn 1911 in New Jersey. Enlisted 1942 at Newark; maid from Hudson County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1974, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.
U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Kate FitzgeraldArrived at New York in 1882 aboard the Germanic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 18; servant. From Cork, Ireland; bound for New York.
U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
Showing 3 of 21,670 records for Fitzgerald in the United States.
Counts: U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · 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) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).
Australia7,087 records
- Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 3,235
- Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 1,152
- Other Australian records 2,700
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Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829 Transportation record Mary FitzgeraldTransported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Mexborough, sailing from Dublin in 1841. Native of Tipperary. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1844. Married 1844 in Oatlands, Tasmania, aged 27.
Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) -
Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829 Transportation record Eliza FitzgeraldTransported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the New Grove, sailing from London in 1834. Native of Limerick. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1837. Married 1837 in Green Ponds, Tasmania.
Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) -
Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829 Transportation record John FitzgeraldTransported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Rodney, sailing from Queenstown in 1852. Native of Cork. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1854.
Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 3 of 7,087 records for Fitzgerald 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) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · 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).
Canada1,217 records
- Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1,069
- Canadian Virtual War Memorial 43
- Other Canadian records 105
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Example: civil register, 1880 Civil record Laurence FitzgeraldKilled in 1905 at the Dominion No. 2 mine, Nova Scotia.
Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. -
Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Ed FitzgeraldCame to Ontario in 1876 aboard the Scan, landing at Quebec, bound for Hamilton, Ontario.
Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. -
Example: Canadian cemetery Burial record John James FitzgeraldBuried in 1985 at St. Mary's Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 63.
City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
Showing 3 of 1,217 records for Fitzgerald 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. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); 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).
New Zealand94 records
- Christchurch City cemetery records 71
- Marlborough District cemetery records 8
- Other New Zealand records 15
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Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record John FitzgeraldBuried in 1906 at Buffalo Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 77.
Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Margaret Mary FitzgeraldDied 1994, aged 74; buried at Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.
Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record John Charles FitzgeraldDied 1942, aged 76; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.
Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 3 of 94 records for Fitzgerald in New Zealand.
Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Waimakariri 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 Kingdom91 records
- War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 63
- St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 25
- Stirling Council burial records 3
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Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Elizabeth FitzgeraldBuried in 1918 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 40.
Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Richard FitzgeraldBuried in 1790 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 70.
MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. -
Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919 War record C. FitzgeraldGunner, Royal Field Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.
National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
Showing 3 of 91 records for Fitzgerald 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).
Ireland31 records
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Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Bridget FitzgeraldDied 1987, aged 70; buried at Labane, Co. Galway.
Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Kathleen FitzgeraldDied 1973, aged 48; buried at Kilcummin, Co. Galway.
Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 2 of 31 records for Fitzgerald 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).
Netherlands12 records
- Dutch population registers 7
- Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 4
- Dutch church registers before 1811 1
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Example: civil register, 1880 Death record Charles Fitz GeraldDied 1861 in Maastricht, aged 72.
Open Archives, Regionaal Historisch Centrum Limburg (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: civil register, 1880 Death record Esther FitzgeraldDied 1958 in Haarlemmermeer, aged 69.
Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 2 of 12 records for Fitzgerald 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).
France10 records
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Example: French death register, 1930 Death record George Arthur FitzgeraldBorn 1929 in the United Kingdom; died 1992 in Portbail (Manche).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Adeline Elisabeth FitzgeraldBorn 1901 in the United States; died 1993 in Gaillon (Eure).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
Showing 2 of 10 records for Fitzgerald 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).
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Fitzgerald.
- Fisse 138 · U.S. census
- Fister 1,292 · U.S. census
- Fitch 19,060 · U.S. census
- Fite 5,656 · U.S. census
- Fitte 105 · U.S. census
- Fitts 6,014 · U.S. census
- Fitzpatrick 40,449 · U.S. census
- Fitzsimmons 9,260 · U.S. census
- Fix 5,282 · U.S. census
- Flach 1,471 · U.S. census
- Flack 6,016 · U.S. census
- Flagel 265 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Fitzgerald 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.