The Kavanagh surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,301 people carried this name — #6,414 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 55,600 people counted. That is up 7% from 4,969 in 2000.

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In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 274 births for the Kavanagh name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Leinster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 12,200 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 44 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Leinster 205
Munster 27
Ulster 22
Connacht 20

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 28 people named Kavanagh 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 28

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

In Switzerland’s population statistics

20 people named Kavanagh 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

Zurich 7
Vaud 5
Valais 5
Geneva 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 the Nordic population registers

27 people named Kavanagh is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 27

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 Scotland’s registers today

Kavanagh was recorded 17 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1299th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 16. 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

Kavanagh in American newspapers,
1862–1879.

Newspaper page from The Cincinnati Daily Star carrying the name Kavanagh
The Cincinnati Daily Star 1879-12-17
Newspaper page from Urbana Union carrying the name Kavanagh
Urbana Union 1871-08-23
Newspaper page from Cleveland Morning Leader carrying the name Kavanagh
Cleveland Morning Leader 1862-04-07

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 30,808 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Kavanagh in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1990s.

31,476 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kavanagh. The most, 6,091, date from the 1910s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 12,097
Victoria 6,928
Queensland 6,927
South Australia 2,892
Western Australia 2,048
Tasmania 409
ACT (Canberra) 99
Northern Territory 16

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

Who carried it

People named Kavanagh,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Paul Kavanagh d. 2022 · politician
  • Blanche Kavanagh d. 1933
  • Henry Kavanagh d. 1741
  • Hervey Kavanagh d. 1740
  • Morgan Kavanagh d. 1804
  • Walter Kavanagh d. 1813

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Kavanagh,
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 States3,296 records

3,296 records of the Kavanagh name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 1,210
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1,156
  • Other U.S. records 930
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Daniel P. Kavanagh

    Born 1898 in United Kingdom. Enlisted 1942 at San Francisco, California; hotel manager. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1964, buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John A. Kavanagh

    Born 1918 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Jay Governors Island; stock clerk from Kings County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1980, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

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

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Teutonic 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 3,296 records for Kavanagh 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, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (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).

Australia1,326 records

1,326 records of the Kavanagh name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 526
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 303
  • Other Australian records 497
  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 Kavanagh

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Midlothian, sailing from Kingston in 1852. Native of Carlow. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1854. Married 1854 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 25.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Agnes Ellen Kavanagh

    Born 1878 in Hobart, Tasmania. Married 1898 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 21.

    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 Michl Kavanagh

    Arrived in Victoria in 1859 aboard the Vater Smidt, aged 42; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,326 records for Kavanagh 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). 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); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada303 records

303 records of the Kavanagh name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 280
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 12
  • Other Canadian records 11
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Eucharia Leona Kavanagh

    Buried in 1998 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 87.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Jane Kavanagh

    Died 1934 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record James Augustus Kavanagh

    Died in service in 1942.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 303 records for Kavanagh 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. · 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: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

New Zealand39 records

39 records of the Kavanagh name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 37
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Eliza Kavanagh

    Died 1903, aged 32; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record J. Kavanagh

    New Zealand Infantry. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    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 Marion Winifred Kavanagh

    Died 1992, aged 84; buried at Waimairi Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 39 records for Kavanagh in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

United Kingdom28 records

28 records of the Kavanagh name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 24
  • Stirling Council burial records 3
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Kavanagh

    Buried in 1975 at St Thomas Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 83.

    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 Thomas Kavanagh

    Buried in 1820 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 63.

    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 R. Kavanagh

    Gunner, Royal Field Artillery. 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 28 records for Kavanagh in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · 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).

Ireland12 records

12 records of the Kavanagh 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 Kavanagh

    Died 1999, aged 82; buried at Lackagh (Old), 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 Mary Kavanagh

    Died 2000, aged 80; buried at Killursa, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Paddy Kavanagh

    Died 1987; buried at Glenamaddy (New), Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 12 records for Kavanagh 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).

France2 records

2 records of the Kavanagh 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 Evelyn Mary Teresa Kavanagh

    Born 1919 in Ireland; died 1993 in Le Tilleul-Othon (Eure).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Jean-Gerald Paul Marie Kavanagh

    Born 1953 in Saint-Martin-Boulogne; died 1982 in Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

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 Kavanagh name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Ellen Kavanagh

    In a population register.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Kavanagh.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Kavanagh 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.

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