How common is the surname Duffy?

38,835 people in the United States had the surname Duffy in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 7,950 Americans. It ranked 892nd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Duffy?

Patrick Duffy, American actor, followed by Flora Duffy.

Where is the surname Duffy most common?

Wikidata records people named Duffy in the United States and Bermuda.

How do you pronounce Duffy?

Duffy is /ˈdʌfi/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Duffy getting more or less common?

More common. 37,962 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 38,835 in 2010, up 2.3%.

What are other spellings of Duffy?

Duffey, Duhy, Duhig, Dowey, Douey and Dooey.

The surname Duffy

An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 38,835 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈdʌfi/ 2 syllables Soundex D100

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Duffy is more common than 99.5% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

From the Irish surname, from Ó Dubhthaigh (literally “descendant of Dubhthach”) and Mac Duibhshíthe (literally “son of Duibhshíth”), from dubh (“black”) + sìth (“peace”), comparable to the surname Duff.

Duffy 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 38,835 people named Duffy in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 7,950 Americans. That is up 2.3% since 2000, when the Census counted 37,962.

#892

rank among US surnames

38,835

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+2.3%

change since 2000 (was #827)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#883	McMahon	39,411	7,834
#884	Landry	39,391	7,838
#885	Case	39,319	7,852
#886	Sampson	39,277	7,861
#887	Moses	39,216	7,873
#888	Magana	39,105	7,895
#889	Blackburn	39,097	7,897

Who is named Duffy

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

91% of people named Duffy identified as white (not Hispanic), 4.3% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 91%
Black (not Hispanic) 4.3%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.3%
Two or more races 1.6%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Duffys

14 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Patrick Duffy
American actor, born 1949
Flora Duffy
Bermudian triathlete, born 1987
Sean Duffy
American politician, former sports commentator and reality television personality, born 1971
Julia Duffy
American film, stage, and television actress, born 1951
Thomas F. Duffy
American actor, born 1955
Gerald Duffy
American journalist and screenwriter (1896-1928)
Karen Duffy
American actress, born 1962
Danny Duffy
American baseball player (born 1988)
Colin Duffy
American rock climber and competition climber, born 2003
Troy Duffy
American film director, born 1971
Hugh Duffy
Baseball player and manager (1866–1954)
Jack Duffy
American actor (1882-1939)

Notable Duffys come mostly from the United States (13) and Bermuda (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Duffey
Duhy
Duhig
Dowey
Douey
Dooey
Doey

Surnames that sound like Duffy

Duffy has the Soundex code D100, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code D100.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Duffy come from?: From the Irish surname, from Ó Dubhthaigh (literally “descendant of Dubhthach”) and Mac Duibhshíthe (literally “son of Duibhshíth”), from dubh (“black”) + sìth (“peace”), comparable to the surname Duff.
How common is the surname Duffy?: 38,835 people in the United States had the surname Duffy in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 7,950 Americans. It ranked 892nd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Duffy?: In the 2010 Census, 91% of people named Duffy identified as white (not Hispanic), and 4.3% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Duffy?: Patrick Duffy, American actor, followed by Flora Duffy.
Where is the surname Duffy most common?: Wikidata records people named Duffy in the United States and Bermuda.
How do you pronounce Duffy?: Duffy is /ˈdʌfi/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Duffy?: Duffy is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Duffy getting more or less common?: More common. 37,962 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 38,835 in 2010, up 2.3%.
What are other spellings of Duffy?: Duffey, Duhy, Duhig, Dowey, Douey and Dooey.