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    The surname Irish

    A Norse surname, carried by 7,336 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /ˈaɪɹɪʃ/ 2 syllables Soundex I620 Also a first name

    Irish: #4,813 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#1,000Archer Irish #4,813, 7,336 people Irish: #4,813 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez Irish #4,813, 7,336 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Irish is more common than 97% of them.

    Origin

    Norse origin

    From Middle English Irish (12th c.), from Old English *Īrisċ, from Old English Īras (“Irishmen”), from Old Norse Írar, from Old Irish Ériu (modern Irish Éire (“Ireland”)), further origin heavily debated but probably from Proto-Celtic *Φīweriyū (“fat land, fertile”), from Proto-Indo-European *péyh₂wr̥ (“fat, swelling”), from *peyh₂- (“to swell; to be fat”), akin to Ancient Greek πῑ́ειρα (pī́eira, “fertile land”), Sanskrit पीव॑री (pī́varī, “fat”).

    One of 126 Norse surnames on this site.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 7,336 people named Irish in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 42,086 Americans. That is up 2.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 7,192.

    #4,813
    rank among US surnames
    7,336
    people in 2010
    2.5
    per 100,000 Americans
    +2%
    change since 2000 (was #4,533)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #4,804Irons7,35841,961
    #4,805McKeown7,35741,966
    #4,806Spradlin7,35641,972
    #4,807Pettis7,35441,983
    #4,808Juan7,35042,006
    #4,809Keiser7,34842,018
    #4,810Button7,34142,058

    Who is named Irish

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

    89% of people named Irish identified as white (not Hispanic), 5.2% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.9% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

    • White (not Hispanic) 89%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 5.2%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.9%
    • Two or more races 2.1%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Other Norse surnames

    All 126 Norse surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname Irish come from?
    From Middle English Irish (12th c.), from Old English *Īrisċ, from Old English Īras (“Irishmen”), from Old Norse Írar, from Old Irish Ériu (modern Irish Éire (“Ireland”)), further origin heavily debated but probably from Proto-Celtic *Φīweriyū (“fat land, fertile”), from Proto-Indo-European…
    How common is the surname Irish?
    7,336 people in the United States had the surname Irish in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 42,086 Americans. It ranked 4,813th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Irish?
    In the 2010 Census, 89% of people named Irish identified as white (not Hispanic), and 5.2% as Black (not Hispanic).
    How do you pronounce Irish?
    Irish is /ˈaɪɹɪʃ/, 2 syllables.
    Is the surname Irish getting more or less common?
    More common. 7,192 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 7,336 in 2010, up 2.0%.
    Is Irish also a first name?
    Yes. Irish is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.