Duffy Surname

4,890th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 115,556 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Ireland

Duffy Surname Definition:

(Celtic) Of Dark Complexion [Irish Dubhthach-dubh, dark, black + the plenary suff. -thach] Dubhthach is a name of great antiquity; and those who have read the history of St. Patrick’s preaching in Ireland will remember King Laeghaire’s arch-poet Dubhthach, whom the saint converted when he preached before the king and his court in Tara, A.

Read More About This Surname

Duffy Surname Distribution Map

By incidenceBy frequencyBy rank
Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ARank (high to low)Rank (low to high)
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States53,8061:6,736793
England19,6701:2,833380
Ireland14,7941:31836
Australia8,2251:3,282464
Scotland5,7791:926142
Canada4,7341:7,7831,143
Northern Ireland3,4331:53772
New Zealand1,2041:3,761597
South Africa6531:82,96710,239
Wales6451:4,798521
France4091:162,40325,292
Saudi Arabia2781:110,99214,774
Argentina2771:154,30813,036
Thailand2131:331,63557,264
Samoa2031:955301
Spain1841:254,08716,180
Dominican Republic851:122,7405,063
Iraq841:416,9247,373
Singapore811:67,9962,745
Germany671:1,201,57478,034
Netherlands511:331,12138,060
Sweden431:228,99415,912
Jersey411:2,420410
Brazil351:6,116,409148,801
Italy311:1,972,79688,569
Portugal281:372,08012,265
Switzerland281:293,31823,433
Bermuda271:2,418390
Isle of Man241:3,576767
Malta241:17,9281,021
Panama211:186,2985,509
Denmark191:297,09021,940
Malaysia181:1,638,56867,452
Peru181:1,765,78523,952
Indonesia161:8,265,575327,276
Norway141:367,30634,015
Russia141:10,294,504334,277
Zimbabwe141:1,102,73166,551
China131:105,178,5825,529
Hong Kong131:564,2683,428
Philippines131:7,787,556197,164
Japan121:10,653,69145,407
Papua New Guinea121:679,47678,554
Poland121:3,167,396120,990
United States Virgin Islands121:9,1981,357
Belgium101:1,149,66482,403
Antigua and Barbuda91:11,0191,084
Egypt91:10,215,08448,153
Guam81:20,0153,029
India71:109,580,769786,157
American Samoa61:9,2931,961
Finland61:916,11741,832
Gibraltar61:5,659991
Qatar61:393,00055,922
Taiwan61:3,907,45823,065
Venezuela61:5,034,01343,431
Mexico51:24,825,24158,251
South Korea51:10,248,0511,694
Ghana41:6,755,17315,406
Mongolia41:706,32211,365
New Caledonia41:69,0566,678
Sierra Leone41:1,772,408958
Sudan41:9,377,5498,207
United Arab Emirates41:2,290,56860,372
Bulgaria31:2,326,30254,089
Costa Rica31:1,593,3568,177
Czechia31:3,544,490144,714
Greece31:3,693,263126,191
Nicaragua31:2,007,0306,490
Nigeria31:59,047,586507,603
Puerto Rico31:1,183,3805,289
Vietnam31:30,882,0184,101
Ecuador21:7,952,92334,269
Hungary21:4,908,13864,617
Israel21:4,278,817136,311
Ivory Coast21:11,535,61661,806
Kenya21:23,089,95083,168
Romania21:10,038,93580,612
Afghanistan11:32,153,18360,828
Albania11:2,914,05529,474
Aruba11:103,4772,586
Azerbaijan11:9,649,12247,873
Bahamas11:391,7512,737
Bahrain11:1,348,60810,432
Bangladesh11:159,356,77326,077
Cayman Islands11:63,8932,384
Chile11:17,616,47493,597
Cyprus11:884,87613,055
Georgia11:3,745,54547,852
Grenada11:108,5351,793
Guernsey11:64,4392,137
Iceland11:380,09011,096
Jamaica11:2,869,94713,896
Kazakhstan11:17,682,496204,010
Kuwait11:3,800,69427,187
Latvia11:2,050,04660,295
Libya11:6,243,9746,186
Luxembourg11:580,54215,155
Macau11:601,6301,582
Marshall Islands11:51,8212,326
Mauritius11:1,293,41716,552
Montenegro11:639,5659,092
Mozambique11:27,261,5697,432
Seychelles11:92,3931,532
Solomon Islands11:580,02922,243
Tanzania11:52,941,613123,716
Turkey11:77,821,422191,047
Yemen11:26,425,29455,147
Show All Nations
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland11,8621:37338
Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ARank (high to low)Rank (low to high)
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England4,4221:5,512842
Scotland2,1211:1,765323
Wales661:23,7641,369
Isle of Man21:27,1351,659
Jersey11:51,8823,898
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States13,0151:3,859472

Duffy (2,208) may also be a first name.

Duffy Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

(Celtic) Of Dark Complexion [Irish Dubhthach-dubh, dark, black + the plenary suff. -thach] Dubhthach is a name of great antiquity; and those who have read the history of St. Patrick’s preaching in Ireland will remember King Laeghaire’s arch-poet Dubhthach, whom the saint converted when he preached before the king and his court in Tara, A.D. 433.—Joyce, Irish Names, ii. 145.

— Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

Ó Dubhthaigh There are several septs of the name in addition to those indicated in the Map. That of Co. Monaghan is numerous. IF 130; Map Don and Ros

— A Guide to Irish Names (1964) by Edward MacLysaght

(Irish) Grandson of Dubhthach (black).

— Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

Duffy: is D’Auffai.Ordericus gives an account of this family (vi. 8).

— Family Names And Their Story (1913) by Sabine Baring-Gould

User-submitted Reference

In Irish the Duffy surname is O'Dubhthaigh, from 'dubhthach' meaning dark, black or swarthy. The name was borne by a 6th Century saint who was also Archbishop of Armagh. The original homeland of the Duffys was Monaghan, where the surname is still very popular, they are also found in Donegal, Mayo and Roscommon. The Donegal Duffys were centred on the parish of Templecrone, where they were powerful churchmen for almost 800 years. The Roscommon Duffys also had a long association with the church, producing a succession of distinguished abbots and bishops. Their central location in Roscommon was in the northeast of the county, in an area called Lissonuffy, which is named after them. Duffy is now the single most common name in County Monaghan, where historically they were rulers of the area around Clontibret. They also contributed a great deal to the church, with a huge number of parish clergy of the name. One of the founders of The Nation newspaper was Sir Charles Gavan Duffy (1816-1903), of the Monaghan Duffys. He had a long and distinguished career as a journalist and politician, was active in the Young Ireland movement, set up the Tenants' Rights movement and was elected MP for New Ross in 1852. Disillusioned at his lack of success, he emigrated to Australia in 1855 and went on to become Premier of Victoria. One of his sons, Sir Frank Gavan Duffy was Chief Justice of Australia from 1931 to 1936 and another son, Charles Gavan Duffy, was Clerk of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Charles' son George Gavan Duffy returned to Ireland to become active in the nationalist cause. He was one of the signatories to the Treaty in 1921, and became President of the High Court. The famous Cross of Cong, now in the National Museum of Ireland, was commissioned by the Archbishop of Tuam, Muireadach Ó'Dubthaigh (1075-1150), who was a member of the Roscommon Duffy family. Later on, another Archbishop of Tuam, Cadhla Ó'Dubthaigh, was ambassador to Henry II in 1175.

- harvey_duffy

Irish, Originating from Roscommon and meaning 'dubh' or 'the black lad'.

- thediff
DNA test information
Display Statistics on:

Duffy Demographics

Duffy Political Affiliation
in United States

Sample size: 11,981 (2014)

United States
Average

View the most partisan surnames in The United States

Duffy Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Duffy Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name Duffy (Arabic: دافي) is found in The United States more than any other country/territory. It may also be found in the variant forms:. Click here for other possible spellings of this name.

How Common Is The Last Name Duffy? popularity and diffusion

The surname Duffy is the 4,890th most frequent surname on earth, borne by around 1 in 63,065 people. The last name occurs mostly in The Americas, where 47 percent of Duffy reside; 47 percent reside in North America and 47 percent reside in Anglo-North America. Duffy is also the 159,191st most widely held first name worldwide, borne by 2,208 people.

Duffy is most commonly used in The United States, where it is carried by 53,806 people, or 1 in 6,736. In The United States it is most numerous in: New York, where 11 percent are found, Pennsylvania, where 8 percent are found and Massachusetts, where 6 percent are found. Not including The United States this surname exists in 107 countries. It is also common in England, where 17 percent are found and Ireland, where 13 percent are found.

Duffy Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Duffy has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people bearing the Duffy surname increased 413 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it increased 445 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Ireland it increased 125 percent between 1901 and 2014; in Scotland it increased 272 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Wales it increased 977 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Duffy Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those bearing the Duffy surname is primarily Catholic (99%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the Duffy surname are 6.63% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than The US average, with 53.4% being registered with the political party.

The amount Duffy earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 19.1% less than the national average, earning 279,976 kr per year; in Peru they earn 151.99% more than the national average, earning S/. 48,848 per year; in South Africa they earn 16.7% more than the national average, earning R 277,320 per year; in United States they earn 11.88% more than the national average, earning $48,276 USD per year and in Canada they earn 4.3% more than the national average, earning $51,820 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ASimilarity (high to low)Similarity (low to high)Prevalent jurisdiction A-ZPrevalent jurisdiction Z-A
SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Duffey919,901/
Duffay91238/
Dauffy91151/
Duffys9122/
Dduffy9119/
Douffy913/
Duffyt911/
Duffoy911/
Dufffy911/
Duiffy910/
Duffiy910/
Dufy89158/
Dauffay839/
Duffays831/
Duffiey831/
Douffay831/
Duffeys830/
Duffeey830/
Dufay803,438/
Duffi801,361/
Dufey80974/
Duffe80647/
Diffy8083/
Duffa8035/
Duffé8015/
Dufoy804/
Daufy803/
Dufuy801/
Dusfy801/
Duefy800/
Duffahey770/
Duffie733,015/
Duffer731,525/
Duffee731,282/
Diffey731,160/
Douffi73956/
Dufays73615/
Duffet73479/
Duffes73434/
Duffis73370/
Dutfoy73135/
Duffez73100/
Deuffa7355/
Duffit7355/
Deuffi7351/
Dauffi7327/
Douffa7319/
Dufayt7317/
Diffay7312/
Duffio734/
Dufeys733/
Duffeu733/
Duffii732/
Duffei731/
Duvfey731/
Dóffay731/
Duffès731/
Dufouy731/
Duufey731/
Daufey731/
Dieffy730/
Diffhy730/
Dusfey730/
Dufuoy730/
Dufphy730/
Duffeyová711/
Duffett671,590/
Dufe67371/
Douffet67223/
Duffait67188/
Dauffer67169/
Duffitt67158/
Dufi67149/
Dufa67119/
Daufouy67107/
Dhuffer6716/
Duffech677/
Dufphey675/
Deuffeu672/
Douffeh671/
Deuffee671/
Dify671/
Doufaya671/
Doufffi671/
Duffétt671/
Douffai671/
Duffais670/
Duffees670/
Douffee670/
Show All Similar Surnames

Duffy Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Duffy in the Arabic language
دافيdafy-
دوفيdwfy-

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Duffy
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis