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    The surname O'Leary

    An Irish surname, carried by 22,329 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /oʊ ˈle.ɹi/ 3 syllables Soundex O460

    O'Leary: #1,607 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#10,001Dubon O'Leary #1,607, 22,329 people O'Leary: #1,607 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez O'Leary #1,607, 22,329 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). O'Leary is more common than 99% of them.

    Origin

    Irish origin

    From Irish Ó Laoghaire. The town in Prince Edward Island is named after early settler Michael O'Leary.

    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 22,329 people named O'Leary in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 13,827 Americans. That is up 1.9% since 2000, when the Census counted 21,904.

    #1,607
    rank among US surnames
    22,329
    people in 2010
    7.6
    per 100,000 Americans
    +1.9%
    change since 2000 (was #1,496)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #1,598Ames22,38513,793
    #1,599Purcell22,38313,794
    #1,600Ludwig22,38013,796
    #1,601Souza22,37313,800
    #1,602Huggins22,37113,801
    #1,603Amador22,37013,802
    #1,604Dunham22,36213,807

    Who is named O'Leary

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

    94% of people named O'Leary identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.5% as two or more races.

    • White (not Hispanic) 94%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.6%
    • Two or more races 1.5%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 1.0%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.8%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous O'Learys

    7 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Matt O'Leary
      American actor, born 1987
    • Brian O'Leary
      American astronomer, astronaut, writer, blogger and advocate (1940-2011)
    • William O'Leary
      American actor, born 1957
    • Ian O'Leary
      American basketball player (born 1986)
    • Jean O'Leary
      American lesbian and gay rights activist, 1948–2005
    • Max O'Leary
      British association football player (born 1996)
    • Dianne P. O'Leary
      American mathematician, computer scientist, born 1951

    Notable O'Learys come mostly from the United States (5), Ireland (1) and the United Kingdom (1).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Variant spellings

    Surnames that sound like O'Leary

    O'Leary has the Soundex code O460, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code O460.

    Other Irish surnames

    All 880 Irish surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname O'Leary come from?
    From Irish Ó Laoghaire. The town in Prince Edward Island is named after early settler Michael O'Leary.
    How common is the surname O'Leary?
    22,329 people in the United States had the surname O'Leary in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 13,827 Americans. It ranked 1,607th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname O'Leary?
    In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named O'Leary identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
    Who is the most famous person named O'Leary?
    Matt O'Leary, American actor, followed by Brian O'Leary.
    Where is the surname O'Leary most common?
    Wikidata records people named O'Leary in the United States, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
    How do you pronounce O'Leary?
    O'Leary is /oʊ ˈle.ɹi/, 3 syllables.
    Is the surname O'Leary getting more or less common?
    More common. 21,904 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 22,329 in 2010, up 1.9%.
    What are other spellings of O'Leary?
    Leary and Learie.