The Markey surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,435 people carried this name — #6,286 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 54,300 people counted. That is up 4% from 5,225 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Markey surname
Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Marcaigh (“descendant of Marcach”), a byname from marcach (“rider, horseman, cavalryman”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Markey» (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 16 births for the Markey name in 1890.
Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 700 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Dublin and Monaghan.”
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where 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 Belgium’s population register
At least 160 people named Markey live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in West Flanders.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 99 people named Markey.
10 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 8 départements, most often Nord.
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 print
Markey in American newspapers,
1891–1923.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 25,116 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Markey,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Daniel P. Markey 1857–1946 · judge -
Enid Markey 1894–1981 · actor -
Gene Markey 1895–1980 · screenwriter -
Howard Thomas Markey 1920–2006 · judge -
Eugene Lawrence Markey 1866–1940
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Owen Markey 1883–1968 · Gaelic football player
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Markey.
- Marit 106 · U.S. census
- Marius 417 · U.S. census
- Marjanovic 259 · U.S. census
- Mark 14,265 · U.S. census
- Marka 118 · U.S. census
- Markarian 1,775 · U.S. census
- Markiewicz 2,317 · U.S. census
- Marko 2,701 · U.S. census
- Markovic 1,465 · U.S. census
- Markowicz 386 · U.S. census
- Markowski 3,509 · U.S. census
- Markus 3,649 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Markey 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.