The Murphy surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 308,417 people carried this name — #64 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 956 people counted. That is up 3% from 300,501 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Murphy surname
A common surname from Irish, the anglicized form of Irish Ó Murchadha.
From Irish Ó Murchadha (“descendant of Murrough”), Mac Murchaidh (“Son of Murrough”), etc.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Murphy» (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 1,386 births for the Murphy 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 61,500 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. One of them was indexed under another spelling 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 671 people named Murphy 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 Switzerland’s population statistics
254 people named Murphy live in Switzerland.
They live in 14 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere 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 Belgium’s population register
At least 137 people named Murphy 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 Brussels-Capital.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where 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 136 people named Murphy.
Most of them — 104 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 9 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
125 people named Murphy have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 315 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 13 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
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
323 people named Murphy 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 print
Murphy in American newspapers,
1876–1922.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 2,020,235 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Murphy,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Arthur Murphy 1727–1805 · barrister -
Nicolás Estévanez 1838–1914 · writer -
Charles Francis Murphy 1858–1924 · politician -
James William Murphy 1858–1927 · lawyer -
Charles Murphy 1862–1935 · lawyer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 217 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Murphy.
- Murgia 389 · U.S. census
- Murie 362 · U.S. census
- Muriel 1,778 · U.S. census
- Murillo 45,558 · U.S. census
- Murin 465 · U.S. census
- Muro 7,916 · U.S. census
- Murray 184,910 · U.S. census
- Mury 177 · U.S. census
- Mus 131 · U.S. census
- Musa 3,736 · U.S. census
- Muscat 875 · U.S. census
- Muse 12,571 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Murphy 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.