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Name Lineage

    The surname O'Rourke

    An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 16,457 people in the United States.

    2 syllables Soundex O662

    O'Rourke: #2,213 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#10,001Dubon O'Rourke #2,213, 16,457 people O'Rourke: #2,213 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez O'Rourke #2,213, 16,457 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). O'Rourke is more common than 98.6% of them.

    Origin

    Irish origin

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

    O'Rourke 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 16,457 people named O'Rourke in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 18,761 Americans. That is up 1.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 16,263.

    #2,213
    rank among US surnames
    16,457
    people in 2010
    5.6
    per 100,000 Americans
    +1.2%
    change since 2000 (was #2,044)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #2,204Burkhart16,52618,682
    #2,205Adamson16,51518,695
    #2,206Arnett16,49918,713
    #2,207Reagan16,49118,722
    #2,208Anguiano16,47918,736
    #2,209Lincoln16,47718,738
    #2,210Tamayo16,47418,741

    Who is named O'Rourke

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

    94% of people named O'Rourke identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.3% as two or more races.

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

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous O'Rourkes

    7 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • 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, born 1969
    • Steve O'Rourke
      British band manager and racecar driver (1940-2003)
    • Danny O'Rourke
      American soccer player, born 1983
    • Jessica O'Rourke
      American soccer player, born 1986

    Notable O'Rourkes come mostly from the United States (6) and the United Kingdom (1).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Variant spellings

    O'Rourke has the Soundex code O662, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code O662.

    Other Irish surnames

    All 880 Irish surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname O'Rourke come from?
    Anglicized form of Irish Ó Ruairc (“descendant of Ruarc”), a Gaelicized form of the Old Norse personal name Hrórekr (“Roderick”).
    How common is the surname O'Rourke?
    16,457 people in the United States had the surname O'Rourke in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 18,761 Americans. It ranked 2,213th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname O'Rourke?
    In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named O'Rourke identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
    Who is the most famous person named O'Rourke?
    Heather O'Rourke, American actress (1975–1988), followed by Beto O'Rourke.
    Where is the surname O'Rourke most common?
    Wikidata records people named O'Rourke in the United States and the United Kingdom.
    What type of surname is O'Rourke?
    O'Rourke is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
    Is the surname O'Rourke getting more or less common?
    More common. 16,263 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 16,457 in 2010, up 1.2%.
    What are other spellings of O'Rourke?
    Rork, Rourk and Rourke.