The Irish surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,336 people carried this name — #4,813 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 40,200 people counted. That is up 2% from 7,192 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Irish surname

A surname originating as an ethnonym.

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

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a nickname: ‘the Irish’.

An early record he cites: Richard le Irishe, Shropshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 419 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Irish was found among the farmers of Devon: 14 in every 10,000.

Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Devon 14

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

66 families named Irish, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 369 people lived in those households, 5.6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. 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

New York 21
Maine 17
Vermont 11
Rhode Island 11
Pennsylvania 2
Massachusetts 1
Connecticut 1
Maryland 1
North Carolina 1

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. 247 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Irish in American newspapers,
1888–1925.

Newspaper page from The Daily Morning Astorian carrying the name Irish
The Daily Morning Astorian 1888-06-03
Newspaper page from The Madison Daily Leader carrying the name Irish
The Madison Daily Leader 1894-11-23
Newspaper page from The White Mountain Echo carrying the name Irish
The White Mountain Echo 1925-07-11

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 8,679 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Irish in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

20,452 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Irish. The most, 3,679, date from the 1880s. 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 South Australia, at 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 6,359
Victoria 5,082
Queensland 3,475
South Australia 3,469
Western Australia 1,070
Tasmania 787
ACT (Canberra) 171
Northern Territory 12

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

Who carried it

People named Irish,
with a public archive behind them.

  • O. H. Irish
    O. H. Irish 1830–1883 · diplomat
  • John P. Irish
    John P. Irish 1843–1923 · newspaper editor
  • Annie Irish
    Annie Irish 1856–1947 · actor
  • Annie B. Irish
    Annie B. Irish 1857–1886
  • Kathleen Pelly d. 1953
  • Ellen Irish d. 1662

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Irish,
in the records of 6 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 States728 records

728 records of the Irish name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 224
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 151
  • Other U.S. records 353
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Gilbert G. Irish

    Born 1907 in Canada. Enlisted 1942 at Los Angeles, California; pharmacist. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1964, buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, California.

    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 Flena Irish

    Arrived at New York in 1848 aboard the Romance 8 from Bristol, aged 35; mechanic. From Great Britain.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Howard Cosby Irish

    U.S. Navy veteran. Born 1933, died 1996; buried at South Florida National Cemetery, Florida.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 728 records for Irish in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). 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); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia121 records

121 records of the Irish name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 71
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 29
  • Other Australian records 21
  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 Samuel Irish

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Rodney, sailing from Queenstown in 1851. Native of Manchester, Lancashire.

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

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Charlotte Jane, aged 27; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record Charles Alfred Irish

    NSW railway employee; served in the First World War with the First Railway Section (AIF).

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)

Showing 3 of 121 records for Irish in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). 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); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

Canada120 records

120 records of the Irish name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 101
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 7
  • Other Canadian records 12
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Chas Irish

    Came to Ontario in 1873 aboard the Sarmation, bound for Hamilton, Ontario; English.

    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 Elizabeth Hilda Irish

    Buried in 1980 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 83.

    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 George Henry Irish

    Died 1951 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 120 records for Irish in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. 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).

United Kingdom9 records

9 records of the Irish name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 5
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 4
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Dorothy Irish

    Buried in 1817 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 25.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. Irish

    Somerset Light Infantry. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary E. Irish

    Buried in 1834 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 27.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 9 records for Irish 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. 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).

France4 records

4 records of the Irish 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 Jean Edouard Irish

    Born 1934 in Saint-Martin; died 1999 in Saint-Martin (Guadeloupe).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Genevieve Winifred Augusta Irish

    Born 1923 in Audruicq (Pas-de-Calais); died 1972 in Moÿ-de-l'Aisne (Aisne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Martin Israel Irish

    Born 1913 in Saint-Martin; died 1995 in Saint-Martin (Guadeloupe).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 4 records for Irish 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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Irish name in the Netherlands Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Elizabeth Irish

    Died 1832 in Rotterdam, aged 62.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (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 Irish.

When the index is not enough

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