How common is the surname O'Connor?

77,923 people in the United States had the surname O'Connor in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,962 Americans. It ranked 417th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname O'Connor?

In the 2010 Census, 93% of people named O'Connor identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named O'Connor?

Flannery O'Connor, American writer (1925–1964), followed by Sandra Day O'Connor.

Where is the surname O'Connor most common?

Wikidata records people named O'Connor in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 1 other country.

Is the surname O'Connor getting more or less common?

More common. 74,756 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 77,923 in 2010, up 4.2%.

The surname O'Connor

An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 77,923 people in the United States.

3 syllables Soundex O256

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). O'Connor is more common than 99.7% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

Anglicisation of Irish Ó Conchúir, meaning "descendant of Conor".

O'Connor 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 77,923 people named O'Connor in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 3,962 Americans. That is up 4.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 74,756.

#417

rank among US surnames

77,923

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+4.2%

change since 2000 (was #385)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#408	Ochoa	78,677	3,924
#409	Dennis	78,482	3,934
#410	Robbins	78,381	3,939
#411	Liu	78,370	3,940
#412	Ramsey	78,350	3,941
#413	Francis	78,327	3,942
#414	Griffith	78,260	3,945

Who is named O'Connor

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

93% of people named O'Connor identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 2.1% as Black (not Hispanic).

White (not Hispanic) 93%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.6%
Black (not Hispanic) 2.1%
Two or more races 1.4%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous O'Connors

33 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Flannery O'Connor
American writer (1925–1964)
Sandra Day O'Connor
American lawyer and jurist (1930–2023)
Donald O'Connor
American dancer, singer, and actor (1925-2003)
Josh O'Connor
British actor (born 1990)
Carroll O'Connor
American actor (1924–2001)
Frances O'Connor
Australian actress, born 1967
Ben O'Connor
Australian cyclist, born 1995
Kevin J. O'Connor
American actor, born 1963
Richard O'Connor
British Army general (1889-1981)
Gavin O'Connor
American film director, screenwriter, producer, playwright and actor (b. 1963)
Tim O'Connor
American actor (1927-2018)
John Joseph O'Connor
American Cardinal, Archbishop of New York (1920–2000)

Notable O'Connors come mostly from the United States (25), the United Kingdom (4) and Australia (3).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like O'Connor

O'Conner

O'Connor has the Soundex code O256, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code O256.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname O'Connor come from?: Anglicisation of Irish Ó Conchúir, meaning "descendant of Conor".
How common is the surname O'Connor?: 77,923 people in the United States had the surname O'Connor in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,962 Americans. It ranked 417th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname O'Connor?: In the 2010 Census, 93% of people named O'Connor identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named O'Connor?: Flannery O'Connor, American writer (1925–1964), followed by Sandra Day O'Connor.
Where is the surname O'Connor most common?: Wikidata records people named O'Connor in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 1 other country.
What type of surname is O'Connor?: O'Connor is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname O'Connor getting more or less common?: More common. 74,756 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 77,923 in 2010, up 4.2%.