How common is the surname Cavanaugh?

17,577 people in the United States had the surname Cavanaugh in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 17,565 Americans. It ranked 2,049th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Cavanaugh?

Christine Cavanaugh, American voice actress (1963–2014), followed by Hobart Cavanaugh.

Where is the surname Cavanaugh most common?

Wikidata records people named Cavanaugh in the United States.

Is the surname Cavanaugh getting more or less common?

More common. 17,137 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 17,577 in 2010, up 2.6%.

The surname Cavanaugh

An Irish surname, carried by 17,577 people in the United States.

3 syllables Soundex C152

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Cavanaugh is more common than 98.7% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

Variant of Kavanagh.

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 17,577 people named Cavanaugh in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 17,565 Americans. That is up 2.6% since 2000, when the Census counted 17,137.

#2,049

rank among US surnames

17,577

people in 2010

6.0

per 100,000 Americans

+2.6%

change since 2000 (was #1,930)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,040	Bauman	17,641	17,502
#2,041	Friend	17,635	17,508
#2,042	Crespo	17,629	17,514
#2,043	Calvert	17,619	17,523
#2,044	Corcoran	17,607	17,535
#2,045	Cornejo	17,591	17,551
#2,046	O'Malley	17,588	17,554

Who is named Cavanaugh

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

91% of people named Cavanaugh identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.7% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 91%
Black (not Hispanic) 2.7%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.7%
Two or more races 1.6%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Cavanaughs

6 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Christine Cavanaugh
American voice actress (1963–2014)
Hobart Cavanaugh
American actor (1886-1950)
Chris Cavanaugh
American swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world champion, former world record-holder, born 1962
Michael Cavanaugh
American actor, born 1942
Tyler Cavanaugh
American basketball player (born 1994)
James M. Cavanaugh
American politician (1823-1879)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Cavanaugh

Cavanaugh has the Soundex code C152, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code C152.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Cavanaugh come from?: Variant of Kavanagh.
How common is the surname Cavanaugh?: 17,577 people in the United States had the surname Cavanaugh in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 17,565 Americans. It ranked 2,049th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Cavanaugh?: In the 2010 Census, 91% of people named Cavanaugh identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.7% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Cavanaugh?: Christine Cavanaugh, American voice actress (1963–2014), followed by Hobart Cavanaugh.
Where is the surname Cavanaugh most common?: Wikidata records people named Cavanaugh in the United States.
Is the surname Cavanaugh getting more or less common?: More common. 17,137 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 17,577 in 2010, up 2.6%.