NameCensus.

UK surname

Cahill

A topographical surname of Irish origin, derived from cathail, meaning "battle", referring to someone who lived near a battlefield.

In the 1881 census there were 1,353 people recorded with the Cahill surname, ranking it #3,027 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 4,831, ranked #1,402, up from #3,027 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Toxteth Park and Manchester. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include County Durham, Conwy and Birmingham.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Cahill is 5,035 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 257.1%.

1881 census count

1,353

Ranked #3,027

Modern count

4,831

2016, ranked #1,402

Peak year

2010

5,035 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Cahill had 1,353 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #3,027 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 4,831 in 2016, ranked #1,402.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 1,855 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Cahill surname distribution map

The map shows where the Cahill surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Cahill surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Cahill over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 560 #4,524
1861 historical 790 #3,489
1881 historical 1,353 #3,027
1891 historical 1,312 #3,312
1901 historical 1,697 #3,040
1911 historical 1,855 #2,665
1997 modern 4,637 #1,412
1998 modern 4,748 #1,433
1999 modern 4,815 #1,420
2000 modern 4,793 #1,417
2001 modern 4,702 #1,416
2002 modern 4,841 #1,403
2003 modern 4,698 #1,411
2004 modern 4,676 #1,415
2005 modern 4,569 #1,432
2006 modern 4,602 #1,419
2007 modern 4,664 #1,411
2008 modern 4,713 #1,406
2009 modern 4,877 #1,397
2010 modern 5,035 #1,383
2011 modern 4,956 #1,384
2012 modern 4,795 #1,402
2013 modern 4,910 #1,394
2014 modern 4,925 #1,395
2015 modern 4,844 #1,404
2016 modern 4,831 #1,402

Geography

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Where Cahills are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Toxteth Park, Manchester and Liverpool. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to County Durham, Conwy, Birmingham, East Cambridgeshire and Brent. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 London parishes London 1
2 London parishes London 3
3 Toxteth Park Lancashire
4 Manchester Lancashire
5 Liverpool Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 County Durham 017 County Durham
2 Conwy 010 Conwy
3 Birmingham 121 Birmingham
4 East Cambridgeshire 011 East Cambridgeshire
5 Brent 028 Brent

Forenames

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First names often paired with Cahill

These lists show first names that appear often with the Cahill surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Cahill

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Cahill, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Baseline UK

Group

Challenged Communities

Nationally, the Cahill surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Cahill household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Residents of these neighbourhoods typically live in households with dependent children, and there are fewer-than-average residents of normal retirement age or over. Identification with ethnic minorities, particularly Black, or Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is common. The rate of Christian religious affiliation is low. Housing predominantly consists of semi-detached houses, along with a significant number of terraced properties and flats. Overcrowded social housing is common, and private renting occurs at average UK levels. Those in employment work mainly in caring leisure and other services; process, plant and machine operation; or elementary occupations. Unemployment is high, and few individuals have degree level qualifications. Many of these neighbourhoods occur in commuter towns or less accessible areas of larger towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Cahill is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Cahill is most concentrated in decile 10 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Cahill falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Cahill is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 60-70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

9
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - Irish

This describes the area pattern most associated with Cahill, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Cahill

The surname Cahill originated in Ireland, deriving from the Irish Gaelic "O'Cathail" or "O'Cathail." This name can be traced back to the 10th century and is believed to have originated in County Tipperary, where it was most prevalent. The prefix "O'" indicates a descendant of the root name, which in this case is "Cathail," an Irish personal name meaning "brave in battle."

In early Irish records, the name was often anglicized as "O'Cahill" or "O'Caughil." These variations in spelling were common due to the translation of Gaelic names into English. The earliest documented reference to the Cahill name can be found in the Annals of Inisfallen, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the late 12th century.

Throughout the centuries, the Cahill surname has been associated with several notable individuals. One prominent figure was Conor O'Cahill, a 16th-century Irish chieftain and leader of the O'Cahill clan in County Tipperary. Another was Daniel William Cahill (1775-1864), an Irish-American entrepreneur and one of the founders of the city of Brooklyn, New York.

In the literary world, the name gained recognition through James Cahill (1926-2014), an American art historian and scholar of Chinese and Japanese art. Additionally, Patrick Cahill (1925-2015) was an acclaimed American actor known for his roles in films such as "The Untouchables" and "Miller's Crossing."

The Cahill surname has also been associated with religious figures, including Reverend Thaddeus Cahill (1867-1934), an Irish-American physicist and inventor of the Telharmonium, an early electronic music synthesizer. Another notable bearer of the name was Father Patrick Cahill (1890-1959), an Irish priest and author who wrote extensively on Irish history and culture.

Over time, the Cahill surname has spread beyond Ireland and can be found in various parts of the world, particularly in countries with significant Irish diaspora populations, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Cahill families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Cahill surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Lancashire leads with 448 Cahills recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.81x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 448 2.81x
Middlesex 184 1.37x
Yorkshire 162 1.22x
Surrey 112 1.71x
Glamorgan 41 1.75x
Cheshire 36 1.21x
Kent 34 0.74x
Hampshire 32 1.16x
Staffordshire 31 0.68x
Lanarkshire 29 0.67x
Devon 20 0.71x
Durham 20 0.50x
Midlothian 19 1.06x
Essex 15 0.57x
Cumberland 13 1.12x
Monmouthshire 13 1.34x
Royal Navy 13 8.12x
Warwickshire 13 0.38x
Channel Islands 12 3.01x
Gloucestershire 12 0.46x
Renfrewshire 12 1.15x
Leicestershire 10 0.67x
Nottinghamshire 10 0.55x
Argyllshire 9 2.41x
Angus 6 0.48x
Norfolk 6 0.29x
Oxfordshire 6 0.72x
Wiltshire 6 0.50x
Cornwall 5 0.33x
Denbighshire 5 0.98x
Dorset 5 0.57x
Herefordshire 5 0.91x
Northumberland 5 0.25x
Berkshire 4 0.40x
Suffolk 4 0.24x
Derbyshire 3 0.14x
Northamptonshire 3 0.24x
Sussex 3 0.13x
Dunbartonshire 2 0.55x
West Lothian 2 0.99x
Aberdeenshire 1 0.08x
Hertfordshire 1 0.11x
Inverness-shire 1 0.25x
Lincolnshire 1 0.05x
Perthshire 1 0.17x
Shropshire 1 0.09x
Somerset 1 0.05x
Worcestershire 1 0.06x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Liverpool in Lancashire leads with 101 Cahills recorded in 1881 and an index of 10.43x.

Place Total Index
Liverpool 101 10.43x
Manchester 52 7.25x
Salford 30 6.39x
Wigan 28 12.56x
Camberwell 27 3.14x
St Marylebone London 24 3.34x
West Derby 23 4.93x
Preston 20 4.69x
Merthyr Tydfil 19 8.45x
Oldham 18 3.50x
Bermondsey 17 4.25x
Newington 17 3.42x
Sculcoates 17 8.05x
Sheffield 17 4.01x
Toxteth Park 17 3.15x
Barony 16 1.45x
Portsea 16 2.96x
Birkenhead 15 6.34x
Bradford 15 4.65x
Islington London 14 1.07x
Birmingham 13 1.15x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 13 1.79x
Leeds 13 1.73x
Linthorpe 13 16.35x
Pendleton In Salford 13 6.84x
Royal Navy 13 9.49x
Chelsea London 12 2.96x
Croydon 12 3.30x
Bedwellty 11 6.41x
Chorlton On Medlock 11 4.34x
Rainhill 11 107.63x
Woolwich 11 6.49x
Bootle Cum Linacre 10 7.89x
Nottingham St Mary 10 2.13x
Walsall Foreign 10 4.27x
Battersea 9 1.82x
Broughton In Salford 9 6.17x
Everton 9 1.77x
Hackney London 9 1.19x
Holy Trinity 9 2.81x
Plymouth St Andrew 9 4.18x
Poulton Cum Seacombe 9 26.37x
Saddell Skipness 9 168.86x
St Andrew Holborn London 9 15.46x
West Ham 9 1.54x
Westleigh 9 24.85x
Wolverhampton 9 2.58x
Aldershot 8 8.67x
Bishopwearmouth 8 2.33x
Hammersmith London 8 2.42x
Lambeth 8 0.68x
Manningham 8 4.88x
St George Bloomsbury 8 10.37x
St Helier 8 6.17x
York St Margaret 8 96.85x
Aberdare 7 4.36x
Clifton 7 5.25x
Garston 7 14.87x
Moss Side 7 8.34x
St Pancras London 7 0.65x
Walton On Hill 7 8.10x
Westminster St James 7 5.07x
Westminster St Margaret 7 10.80x
Willenhall 7 8.24x
Cardiff St Mary 6 4.65x
Castleton 6 3.77x
Great Yarmouth 6 3.50x
Leicester St Margaret 6 1.65x
Northowram 6 6.42x
Old Monkland 6 3.48x
Poplar London 6 2.37x
Port Glasgow 6 11.91x
Roath 6 5.64x
Saddleworth 6 5.84x
Southwark St Saviour 6 8.69x
Speldhurst 6 25.70x
St Botolph Aldgate London 6 21.68x
Stratton St Margaret 6 32.91x
Whitehaven 6 9.73x
York St Maurice 6 23.92x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Cahill surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 135
Margaret 56
Elizabeth 40
Ellen 38
Catherine 36
Bridget 29
Ann 24
Sarah 22
Annie 21
Jane 18
Eliza 15
Alice 10
Emma 10
Kate 10
Anne 9
Julia 9
Agnes 8
Martha 8
Maria 6
Rose 6
Winifred 6
Hannah 4
Johanna 4
Louisa 4
Ruth 4
Caroline 3
Catharine 3
Charlotte 3
Emily 3
Esther 3
Fanny 3
Florence 3
Lucy 3
Margret 3
Norah 3
Sophia 3
Christina 2
Elizth. 2
Frances 2
Harriet 2
Katherine 2
Letitia 2
Margt. 2
Minnie 2
Phoebe 2
Susan 2
Susannah 2
Theresa 2
Edith 1
Eleanor 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Cahill surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 114
James 69
Thomas 69
Michael 44
Patrick 43
William 38
Edward 32
Joseph 14
Henry 13
Daniel 11
Richard 11
Alfred 10
David 9
Robert 9
Francis 8
George 8
Peter 8
Charles 7
Philip 6
Thos. 6
Wm. 6
Martin 5
Dennis 4
Jeremiah 4
Laurence 4
Bernard 3
Cornelius 3
Harry 3
Jas. 3
Lawrence 3
Matthew 3
Michell 3
Andrew 2
Arthur 2
Edmund 2
Herbert 2
Hugh 2
Jno. 2
Maurice 2
Micheal 2
Nicholas 2
Percy 2
Samuel 2
Stephen 2
Christopher 1
Clement 1
Edmond 1
Edwin 1
Eugene 1
F. 1

FAQ

Cahill surname: questions and answers

How common was the Cahill surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,353 people were recorded with the Cahill surname. That placed it at #3,027 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Cahill surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 4,831 in 2016. That gives Cahill a modern rank of #1,402.

What does the Cahill surname mean?

A topographical surname of Irish origin, derived from cathail, meaning "battle", referring to someone who lived near a battlefield.

What does the Cahill map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Cahill bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.