How common is the surname Gaffney?

12,805 people in the United States had the surname Gaffney in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 24,111 Americans. It ranked 2,819th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Gaffney?

F. Drew Gaffney, American astronaut, followed by Tony Gaffney.

Where is the surname Gaffney most common?

Wikidata records people named Gaffney in the United States.

Is the surname Gaffney getting more or less common?

More common. 12,469 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 12,805 in 2010, up 2.7%.

The surname Gaffney

An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 12,805 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex G150

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Gaffney is more common than 98.3% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Gamhna (“descendant of Gamhain”), a byname from gamhain (“calf”).

Gaffney 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 12,805 people named Gaffney in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 24,111 Americans. That is up 2.7% since 2000, when the Census counted 12,469.

#2,819

rank among US surnames

12,805

people in 2010

4.3

per 100,000 Americans

+2.7%

change since 2000 (was #2,662)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,810	Tubbs	12,828	24,068
#2,811	Gilchrist	12,825	24,074
#2,812	Cardoza	12,824	24,076
#2,813	Andres	12,821	24,081
#2,814	Willingham	12,818	24,087
#2,815	Ragland	12,816	24,091
#2,816	Aiken	12,812	24,098

Who is named Gaffney

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

83% of people named Gaffney identified as white (not Hispanic), 12% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 83%
Black (not Hispanic) 12%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
Two or more races 1.6%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Gaffneys

5 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

F. Drew Gaffney
American astronaut, born 1946
Tony Gaffney
American basketball player (born 1984)
Frank Gaffney
American anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist (born 1953)
Mason Gaffney
American economist (1923–2020)
Mo Gaffney
American actress and comedian, born 1958

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Gaffaney
Goffney

Gaffney has the Soundex code G150, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code G150.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Gaffney come from?: Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Gamhna (“descendant of Gamhain”), a byname from gamhain (“calf”).
How common is the surname Gaffney?: 12,805 people in the United States had the surname Gaffney in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 24,111 Americans. It ranked 2,819th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Gaffney?: In the 2010 Census, 83% of people named Gaffney identified as white (not Hispanic), and 12% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Gaffney?: F. Drew Gaffney, American astronaut, followed by Tony Gaffney.
Where is the surname Gaffney most common?: Wikidata records people named Gaffney in the United States.
What type of surname is Gaffney?: Gaffney is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Gaffney getting more or less common?: More common. 12,469 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 12,805 in 2010, up 2.7%.
What are other spellings of Gaffney?: Gaffaney and Goffney.