2000
#4,617
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,024
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.60
Rare Last name
Ogrady
A surname of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic "Ó Grádaigh," meaning "descendant of Grádaigh" (an old Irish personal name).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,128 Americans carry the last name Ogrady. That puts it at #4,834 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.37 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 42,170 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ogrady surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Ogrady with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.1K
1 in 42,170
Census rank
#4,834
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,088 bearers of the surname Ogrady in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.37 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4834th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ogrady, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ogrady
The surname O'Grady is of Irish origin, tracing its roots back to County Limerick in Ireland. It is derived from the Gaelic name "O'Gradaigh," which means "descendant of Grádaigh." The prefix "O'" indicates that it is a patronymic surname, indicating the descendant of an individual named Grádaigh.
The name Grádaigh is believed to have originated from the Irish word "gráda," which means "illustrious" or "noble." This suggests that the O'Grady family may have held a prominent position or status in their local community during the early days of Irish history.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the O'Grady surname can be found in the Annals of Inisfallen, a chronicle of Irish history dating back to the 12th century. The annals mention an individual named Aedh O'Grady, who was described as the "chief professor of Munster" in 1151.
Another notable historical reference to the O'Grady name comes from the Annals of the Four Masters, a 17th-century chronicle of medieval Irish history. In these annals, there is a record of Dermot O'Grady, who was appointed as the Bishop of Elphin in 1416.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the O'Grady family was prominent in County Limerick, where they held significant landholdings and estates. One notable member of the family was Darby O'Grady, who was born in 1590 and served as a member of the Irish Parliament.
In the 18th century, the O'Grady family continued to play a prominent role in Irish society. Standish O'Grady, born in 1766, was a renowned historian and author who wrote extensively about Irish history and mythology.
Other notable individuals with the O'Grady surname include Hardress O'Grady (1866-1944), an Irish-Australian journalist and writer; Thomas O'Grady (1859-1935), an Irish-American educator and politician; and James O'Grady (1866-1934), an Irish-American journalist and author.
While the O'Grady name has its origins in County Limerick, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly through Irish immigration to countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ogrady
Among Census respondents with the surname Ogrady, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Ogrady bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Ogrady surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.6% · 6,494
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 269
- Two or more races2.9% · 208
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 58
- Black or African American0.6% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ogrady
Ogrady appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#4,831
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,306
+282 bearers (+4.0%)
Per 100,000 2.48
Rank movement Down 214 places
2020
#4,834
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,088
-218 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 2.37
Rank movement Down 3 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,617 | 7,024 | 2.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,831 | 7,306 | 2.48 | +282 bearers (+4.0%) | Down 214 places |
| 2020 | #4,834 | 7,088 | 2.37 | -218 bearers (-3.0%) | Down 3 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Ogrady surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #4,831 | #4,834 | -0.1% |
| Count | 7,306 | 7,088 | -3.0% |
| Per 100K | 2.48 | 2.37 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ogrady bearers went from 7,306 to 7,088 (-3.0% change). The surname moved down 3 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,831 to #4,834.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Ogrady
FAQ
Ogrady surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ogrady?
Name Census estimates that about 8,128 living Americans carry the surname Ogrady. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 42,170 residents.
How common is Ogrady?
Ogrady ranks #4,834 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.37 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,088 people with the surname Ogrady. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,128), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.37 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.37 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Ogrady.
Has Ogrady become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ogrady went from 7,306 recorded bearers to 7,088. That is a decrease of 218 (-3.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,831 to #4,834.
What does the Census say about the background of Ogrady?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ogrady, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Ogrady in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (6,494 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ogrady appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.6%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (2.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Ogrady (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Ogrady mean?
A surname of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic "Ó Grádaigh," meaning "descendant of Grádaigh" (an old Irish personal name). The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Ogrady (2.37 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Ogrady?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.