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    The surnameMurphy

    An Irish patronymic surname, the 64th most common in the United States.

    Pronounced /ˈmɜɹfi/ 2 syllables Soundex M610 Also a first name

    Murphy: #64 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#1,000Archer#10,001Dubon Murphy #64, 308,417 people Murphy: #64 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#1,000Archer Murphy #64, 308,417 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Murphy is more common than 99.9% of them.

    Origin

    Irish origin

    From Irish Ó Murchadha (“descendant of Murrough”), Mac Murchaidh (“Son of Murrough”), etc. See Muircath.

    Murphy 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 308,417 people named Murphy in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 1,001 Americans. That is up 2.6% since 2000, when the Census counted 300,501.

    #64
    rank among US surnames
    308,417
    people in 2010
    105
    per 100,000 Americans
    +2.6%
    change since 2000 (was #58)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #55Diaz347,636888
    #56Parker336,221918
    #57Cruz334,201924
    #58Edwards332,423929
    #59Collins329,770936
    #60Reyes327,904942
    #61Stewart324,957950

    Who is named Murphy

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

    83% of people named Murphy identified as white (not Hispanic), 12% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

    • White (not Hispanic) 83%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 12%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.3%
    • Two or more races 1.8%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Murphys

    98 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Eddie Murphy
      American actor and comedian (born 1961)
    • Brittany Murphy
      American actress and singer (1977–2009)
    • William P. Murphy
      American scientist (1892–1987)
    • Audie Murphy
      American soldier and actor (1925–1971)
    • Ryan Murphy
      American screenwriter (born 1965)
    • Chris Murphy
      American lawyer and politician (born 1973)
    • Donna Murphy
      American actress, singer, born 1959
    • Phil Murphy
      American politician and financier (born 1957)
    • Ryan Murphy
      American swimmer, born 1995
    • Edward A. Murphy, Jr.
      American engineer, coiner of Murphy's law (1918–1990)
    • Charlie Murphy
      American actor, comedian, and writer (1959–2017)
    • Joseph Murphy
      American writer (1898–1981)

    Notable Murphys come mostly from the United States (86), Australia (6) and the United Kingdom (5).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Variant spellings

    Surnames that sound like Murphy

    Murphy has the Soundex code M610, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code M610.

    Other Irish surnames

    All 880 Irish surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname Murphy come from?
    From Irish Ó Murchadha (“descendant of Murrough”), Mac Murchaidh (“Son of Murrough”), etc. See Muircath.
    How common is the surname Murphy?
    308,417 people in the United States had the surname Murphy in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,001 Americans. It ranked 64th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Murphy?
    In the 2010 Census, 83% of people named Murphy identified as white (not Hispanic), and 12% as Black (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Murphy?
    Eddie Murphy, American actor and comedian (born 1961), followed by Brittany Murphy.