How common is the surname Ahern?

8,221 people in the United States had the surname Ahern in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 37,556 Americans. It ranked 4,322nd of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Ahern?

In the 2010 Census, 96% of people named Ahern identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named Ahern?

Bertie Ahern, 11th Taoiseach of Ireland from 1997 to 2008, followed by Lassie Lou Ahern.

Where is the surname Ahern most common?

Wikidata records people named Ahern in the United States and Ireland.

Is the surname Ahern getting more or less common?

More common. 8,046 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 8,221 in 2010, up 2.2%.

The surname Ahern

An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 8,221 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex A650

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Ahern is more common than 97.3% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

Anglicized form of Irish Ó hEachthighearna (“descendant of Eachthighearna”), a personal name composed by the elements each (“horse”) + tighearna (“master, lord”).

Ahern is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 8,221 people named Ahern in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 37,556 Americans. That is up 2.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 8,046.

#4,322

rank among US surnames

8,221

people in 2010

2.8

per 100,000 Americans

+2.2%

change since 2000 (was #4,065)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#4,314	Derosa	8,241	37,465
#4,315	Poore	8,240	37,469
#4,317	Ives	8,233	37,501
#4,318	Winfield	8,230	37,515
#4,319	Sprouse	8,229	37,519
#4,320	Kirkwood	8,227	37,528
#4,321	Mowery	8,226	37,533

Who is named Ahern

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

96% of people named Ahern identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.0% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 96%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.2%
Two or more races 1.0%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.8%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.1%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Aherns

3 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Bertie Ahern
11th Taoiseach of Ireland from 1997 to 2008
Lassie Lou Ahern
American child actress (1920–2018)
Peggy Ahern
Actress (1917-2012)

Notable Aherns come mostly from the United States (2) and Ireland (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Ahearn
Aherne

Surnames that sound like Ahern

Ahearn

Ahern has the Soundex code A650, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code A650.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Ahern come from?: Anglicized form of Irish Ó hEachthighearna (“descendant of Eachthighearna”), a personal name composed by the elements each (“horse”) + tighearna (“master, lord”).
How common is the surname Ahern?: 8,221 people in the United States had the surname Ahern in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 37,556 Americans. It ranked 4,322nd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Ahern?: In the 2010 Census, 96% of people named Ahern identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Ahern?: Bertie Ahern, 11th Taoiseach of Ireland from 1997 to 2008, followed by Lassie Lou Ahern.
Where is the surname Ahern most common?: Wikidata records people named Ahern in the United States and Ireland.
What type of surname is Ahern?: Ahern is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Ahern getting more or less common?: More common. 8,046 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 8,221 in 2010, up 2.2%.
What are other spellings of Ahern?: Ahearn and Aherne.