How common is the surname Leary?

15,505 people in the United States had the surname Leary in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 19,913 Americans. It ranked 2,351st of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Leary?

Timothy Leary, American psychologist (1920–1996), followed by Denis Leary.

Where is the surname Leary most common?

Wikidata records people named Leary in the United States.

Is the surname Leary getting more or less common?

More common. 15,127 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 15,505 in 2010, up 2.5%.

Is Leary also a first name?

Yes. Leary 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.

The surname Leary

An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 15,505 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex L600

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Leary is more common than 98.6% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

A surname from Irish, an alternate anglicization of Ó Laoghaire (literally “descendant of Leary”) (O'Leary).

Leary 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 15,505 people named Leary in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 19,913 Americans. That is up 2.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 15,127.

#2,351

rank among US surnames

15,505

people in 2010

5.3

per 100,000 Americans

+2.5%

change since 2000 (was #2,203)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,342	Talbot	15,562	19,840
#2,343	Anders	15,554	19,850
#2,344	Reaves	15,550	19,855
#2,345	Hough	15,549	19,856
#2,346	Iverson	15,539	19,869
#2,347	Monahan	15,533	19,877
#2,348	Beavers	15,531	19,879

Who is named Leary

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

81% of people named Leary identified as white (not Hispanic), 15% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.1% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 81%
Black (not Hispanic) 15%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.1%
Two or more races 1.6%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.2%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Learys

3 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Timothy Leary
American psychologist (1920–1996)
Denis Leary
American actor and comedian (born 1957)
Scott Leary
American swimmer (1881–1958)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Leary

Leary has the Soundex code L600, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code L600.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Leary come from?: Leary is Irish in origin.
How common is the surname Leary?: 15,505 people in the United States had the surname Leary in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 19,913 Americans. It ranked 2,351st of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Leary?: In the 2010 Census, 81% of people named Leary identified as white (not Hispanic), and 15% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Leary?: Timothy Leary, American psychologist (1920–1996), followed by Denis Leary.
Where is the surname Leary most common?: Wikidata records people named Leary in the United States.
What type of surname is Leary?: Leary is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Leary getting more or less common?: More common. 15,127 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 15,505 in 2010, up 2.5%.
Is Leary also a first name?: Yes. Leary 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.