The O'Rourke surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 16,457 people carried this name — #2,213 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 17,900 people counted. That is up 1% from 16,263 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the O'Rourke surname
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Ruairc (“descendant of Ruarc”), a Gaelicized form of the Old Norse personal name Hrórekr (“Roderick”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «O'Rourke» (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 49 births for the O’Rourke name in 1890.
They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Connacht. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 2,200 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 18 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name.
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 print
O'Rourke in American newspapers,
1912.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.
In print
O'Rourke in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.
35,027 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss O'Rourke. The most, 7,485, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 1.9 times its expected share.
Articles, by state
Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss O'Rourke.
Who carried it
People named O'Rourke,
with a public archive behind them.
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Heather O'Rourke 1975–1988 · film actor -
Edward O'Rourke 1876–1943 · Catholic priest -
Jim O'Rourke 1850–1919 · baseball player -
P. J. O'Rourke 1947–2022 · satirist
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Steve O'Rourke 1940–2003 · racing automobile driver
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Mary O'Rourke 1937–2024 · politician
Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0.
In the public record
People named O'Rourke,
in the records of 3 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 States2,314 records
- New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 979
- U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 691
- New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 283
- U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 273
- Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 59
- Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 15
- U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 13
- U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
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Example: U.S. war memorial War record Ronald Patrick OrourkeBorn 1947; from Miami Springs, Florida. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1966 in South Vietnam.
U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) -
Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Mary OrourkeArrived at New York in 1866 aboard the Queen from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 17; laborer. From England.
U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) -
Example: U.S. registration card, 1942 Military record Floyd G. OrourkeBorn 1913 in Michigan. Enlisted 1942 at Detroit; bartender from Tuscola County.
U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain)
Showing 3 of 2,314 records for O'Rourke in the United States.
Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain).
Australia455 records
- Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 273
- Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 163
- Tasmanian Names Index 18
- NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
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Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829 Transportation record Owen OrourkeTransported to New South Wales aboard the Sarah, arriving 1825.
Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) -
Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Michael OrourkeArrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Tippoo Saib, aged 47; English.
Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: probate petition, 1848 Probate record James F. OrourkeRailway employee of Pt Melb, Victoria; died 1901.
Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 3 of 455 records for O'Rourke in Australia.
Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). 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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).
Canada1 record
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Example: Canadian cemetery Burial record John OrourkeBuried in 1913 at Fairview Cemetery, Niagara Falls, Ontario.
City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls.
Counts: City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to O'Rourke.
- Orndorff 3,145 · U.S. census
- Ornelas 22,969 · U.S. census
- Orona 6,145 · U.S. census
- Oropeza 7,082 · U.S. census
- Oros 2,512 · U.S. census
- Orosco 8,313 · U.S. census
- Orozco 65,904 · U.S. census
- Orr 44,388 · U.S. census
- Ors 126 · U.S. census
- Orsatti 214 · U.S. census
- Orsetti 100 · U.S. census
- Orsi 1,100 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where O'Rourke 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.