How common is the surname Cleary?

15,980 people in the United States had the surname Cleary in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 19,321 Americans. It ranked 2,280th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Cleary?

Beverly Cleary, American writer of children's books (1916–2021), followed by Bob Cleary.

Where is the surname Cleary most common?

Wikidata records people named Cleary in the United States and Australia.

Is the surname Cleary getting more or less common?

More common. 15,685 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 15,980 in 2010, up 1.9%.

The surname Cleary

An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 15,980 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex C460

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Cleary is more common than 98.6% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Cléirigh (“descendant of the cleric”), from cléireach (“cleric”).

Cleary 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 15,980 people named Cleary in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 19,321 Americans. That is up 1.9% since 2000, when the Census counted 15,685.

#2,280

rank among US surnames

15,980

people in 2010

5.4

per 100,000 Americans

+1.9%

change since 2000 (was #2,120)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,271	Berman	16,025	19,266
#2,272	Schaeffer	16,024	19,268
#2,273	Cheek	16,020	19,273
#2,274	Fenton	16,017	19,276
#2,275	Sams	16,014	19,280
#2,276	Saylor	16,010	19,285
#2,277	Robledo	16,001	19,295

Who is named Cleary

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

92% of people named Cleary identified as white (not Hispanic), 3.2% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 92%
Black (not Hispanic) 3.2%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
Two or more races 1.3%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.2%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Clearys

5 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Beverly Cleary
American writer of children's books (1916–2021)
Bob Cleary
American ice hockey player (1936–2015)
Jack Cleary
Australian rower, born 1995
Bill Cleary
American ice hockey player, coach, college athletic administrator, born 1934
Jon Cleary
Australian writer and novelist (1917-2010)

Notable Clearys come mostly from the United States (3) and Australia (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Clery

Surnames that sound like Cleary

Cleary has the Soundex code C460, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code C460.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Cleary come from?: Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Cléirigh (“descendant of the cleric”), from cléireach (“cleric”).
How common is the surname Cleary?: 15,980 people in the United States had the surname Cleary in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 19,321 Americans. It ranked 2,280th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Cleary?: In the 2010 Census, 92% of people named Cleary identified as white (not Hispanic), and 3.2% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Cleary?: Beverly Cleary, American writer of children's books (1916–2021), followed by Bob Cleary.
Where is the surname Cleary most common?: Wikidata records people named Cleary in the United States and Australia.
What type of surname is Cleary?: Cleary is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Cleary getting more or less common?: More common. 15,685 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 15,980 in 2010, up 1.9%.
What are other spellings of Cleary?: Clery.