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The surname O'Reilly

An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 12,074 people in the United States.

Pronounced /əˈɹaɪli/ 3 syllables Soundex O640

O'Reilly: #2,970 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#1,000Archer#10,001Dubon O'Reilly #2,970, 12,074 people O'Reilly: #2,970 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez O'Reilly #2,970, 12,074 people
Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). O'Reilly is more common than 98.2% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

A surname from Irish [in turn originating as a patronymic] from Reilly.

O'Reilly 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 12,074 people named O'Reilly in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 25,571 Americans. That is up 7.6% since 2000, when the Census counted 11,224.

#2,970
rank among US surnames
12,074
people in 2010
4.1
per 100,000 Americans
+7.6%
change since 2000 (was #2,946)
RankSurnamePeople1 in
#2,961Masterson12,11725,480
#2,962Porras12,10625,504
#2,963Moulton12,10425,508
#2,964Monk12,10325,510
#2,965Pence12,10125,514
#2,966Hatton12,09025,537
#2,967Rust12,08625,546

Who is named O'Reilly

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

92% of people named O'Reilly identified as white (not Hispanic), 3.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 2.0% as Black (not Hispanic).

  • White (not Hispanic) 92%
  • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.5%
  • Black (not Hispanic) 2.0%
  • Two or more races 1.5%
  • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%
  • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous O'Reillys

8 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

  • Bill O'Reilly
    American political commentator, television host and writer, born 1949
  • Heather O'Reilly
    American soccer player, born 1985
  • Ahna O'Reilly
    Actress, born 1984
  • Mary Margaret O'Reilly
    Assistant treasurer of the United States Bureau of the Mint, 1865–1949
  • Bill O'Reilly
    Australian cricketer (1905-1992)
  • Leonora O'Reilly
    American activist, 1870–1927
  • Robert O'Reilly
    American actor, born 1950
  • Cyril O'Reilly
    American actor, born 1958

Notable O'Reillys come mostly from the United States (7) and Australia (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like O'Reilly

O'Reilly has the Soundex code O640, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code O640.

Other Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname O'Reilly come from?
O'Reilly is Irish in origin.
How common is the surname O'Reilly?
12,074 people in the United States had the surname O'Reilly in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 25,571 Americans. It ranked 2,970th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname O'Reilly?
In the 2010 Census, 92% of people named O'Reilly identified as white (not Hispanic), and 3.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named O'Reilly?
Bill O'Reilly, American political commentator, television host and writer, followed by Heather O'Reilly.
Where is the surname O'Reilly most common?
Wikidata records people named O'Reilly in the United States and Australia.
How do you pronounce O'Reilly?
O'Reilly is /əˈɹaɪli/, 3 syllables.
What type of surname is O'Reilly?
O'Reilly is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname O'Reilly getting more or less common?
More common. 11,224 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 12,074 in 2010, up 7.6%.