# Galway (surname)

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

A toponymic surname from Irish.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Irish |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 399 |
| US rank (2010) | 52,037 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 773,798 people |
| Change since 2000 | +4.5% (382 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɡɔlweɪ/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Anglicization of Irish Gaillimh, of uncertain meaning, said to mean "stony' (referring to the River Corrib). If so, it probably derives from Old Irish calad (“hard”); compare caillou, of Gaulish origin.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Galway 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) | 90% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 4.5% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.3% |
| Two or more races | 2.5% |

## Similar surnames

Galloway, Gallaway, Gale, Gall, Gailey, Galo, Galey, Gál, Galley, Gala, Galla, Gallow.

## 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.