How common is the surname McCaffrey?

8,181 people in the United States had the surname McCaffrey in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 37,739 Americans. It ranked 4,339th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname McCaffrey?

In the 2010 Census, 95% of people named McCaffrey identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named McCaffrey?

Anne McCaffrey, American-Irish novelist (1926–2011), followed by Christian McCaffrey.

Where is the surname McCaffrey most common?

Wikidata records people named McCaffrey in the United States.

Is the surname McCaffrey getting more or less common?

More common. 8,078 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 8,181 in 2010, up 1.3%.

The surname McCaffrey

An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 8,181 people in the United States.

3 syllables Soundex M216

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). McCaffrey is more common than 97.3% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

Anglicized form of Northern Irish Mac Gafraidh (“son of Gafradh”), a Gaelicized form of the personal name Godfrey. Compare the surname McGorry.

McCaffrey 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 8,181 people named McCaffrey in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 37,739 Americans. That is up 1.3% since 2000, when the Census counted 8,078.

#4,339

rank among US surnames

8,181

people in 2010

2.8

per 100,000 Americans

+1.3%

change since 2000 (was #4,040)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#4,330	Spearman	8,199	37,656
#4,331	Monaco	8,198	37,661
#4,333	Redmon	8,197	37,666
#4,334	Sides	8,194	37,679
#4,335	Leiva	8,193	37,684
#4,336	Wegner	8,192	37,689
#4,337	Guyton	8,191	37,693

Who is named McCaffrey

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

95% of people named McCaffrey identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.4% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 95%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.2%
Two or more races 1.4%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.1%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.2%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous McCaffreys

6 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Anne McCaffrey
American-Irish novelist (1926–2011)
Christian McCaffrey
American football player (born 1996)
James McCaffrey
American actor (1958–2023)
Pete McCaffrey
American basketball player (1938–2012)
Ed McCaffrey
American football player, born 1968
Stephanie McCaffrey
American soccer player, born 1993

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Caffrey

Surnames that sound like McCaffrey

McCaffrey has the Soundex code M216, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code M216.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname McCaffrey come from?: Anglicized form of Northern Irish Mac Gafraidh (“son of Gafradh”), a Gaelicized form of the personal name Godfrey. Compare the surname McGorry.
How common is the surname McCaffrey?: 8,181 people in the United States had the surname McCaffrey in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 37,739 Americans. It ranked 4,339th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname McCaffrey?: In the 2010 Census, 95% of people named McCaffrey identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named McCaffrey?: Anne McCaffrey, American-Irish novelist (1926–2011), followed by Christian McCaffrey.
Where is the surname McCaffrey most common?: Wikidata records people named McCaffrey in the United States.
What type of surname is McCaffrey?: McCaffrey is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname McCaffrey getting more or less common?: More common. 8,078 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 8,181 in 2010, up 1.3%.
What are other spellings of McCaffrey?: Caffrey.