# O'Rourke (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/orourke/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Irish.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Irish |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 16,457 |
| US rank (2010) | 2,213 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 18,761 people |
| Change since 2000 | +1.2% (16,263 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Rork, Rourk, Rourke |

## Etymology

Anglicized form of Irish Ó Ruairc (“descendant of Ruarc”), a Gaelicized form of the Old Norse personal name Hrórekr (“Roderick”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named O'Rourke in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 94% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.6% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.6% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 1.3% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named O'Rourke in the United States and the United Kingdom.

## People named O'Rourke

- Heather O'Rourke, American actress (1975–1988)
- Beto O'Rourke, American politician (born 1972)
- P. J. O'Rourke, American political satirist and journalist (1947–2022)
- Jim O'Rourke, American musician
- Steve O'Rourke, British band manager and racecar driver (1940-2003)
- Danny O'Rourke, American soccer player
- Jessica O'Rourke, American soccer player

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.