# Kavanagh (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/kavanagh/  
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) | 5,301 |
| US rank (2010) | 6,414 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 58,243 people |
| Change since 2000 | +6.7% (4,969 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Cavanah, Cavanaugh, Kavanaugh |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Irish Caomhánach.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Kavanagh 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) | 94% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 1.9% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.9% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.1% |
| Two or more races | 1.3% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Kavanagh in the United Kingdom and Australia.

## People named Kavanagh

- Ken Kavanagh, Australian motorcycle racer (1923-2019)
- Brad Kavanagh, British actor
- Chris Kavanagh, association football referee

## Similar surnames

Kavanaugh.

## 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.