# Flaherty (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/flaherty/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Irish.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Irish |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 17,926 |
| US rank (2010) | 2,013 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 17,223 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.4% (17,513 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Flaharty, Fleharty, Fluharty |

## Etymology

From Irish Flaithbheartach, Flaithbheartaigh (“bright ruler”), from flaith (“prince, ruler”) + Proto-Celtic *berxtos (“bright, shining”), cognate with Proto-Germanic *berhtaz (“bright, shining”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Flaherty in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 96% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.5% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1.8% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3% |
| Two or more races | 1.1% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Flaherty in the United States.

## People named Flaherty

- Robert J. Flaherty, American documentary filmmaker (1884-1951)
- Daniel Flaherty, American actor
- Lanny Flaherty, American actor (1942–2024)
- Pat Flaherty, American actor and baseball player (1897–1970)
- Jack Flaherty, American baseball player (born 1995)
- Ray Flaherty, American football player and coach (1903-1994)
- Ryan Flaherty, American baseball player
- Stephen Flaherty, American composer

## Similar surnames

Fluharty, Fullerton, Fullard, Florida.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.