# Rafferty (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/rafferty/  
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 | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 9,311 |
| US rank (2010) | 3,802 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 33,159 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.6% (9,077 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Raffety |

## Etymology

Anglicized form of Irish Ó Rabhartaigh (“descendants of Rabhartach”), a personal name derived from rabharta (“flood, tide”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Rafferty 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) | 95% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.5% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.0% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3% |
| Two or more races | 1.2% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Rafferty in the United States and Australia.

## People named Rafferty

- Sarah Rafferty, American actress
- Frances Rafferty, American actress (1922-2004)
- Chips Rafferty, Australian actor (1909–1971)
- Kevin Rafferty, American filmmaker (1948–2020)

## Similar surnames

Roberts, Robertson, Robert, Rupert, Rivard, Ruppert, Rayford, Roberto, Raiford, Reppert, Robards, Ruperto.

## 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.