NameCensus.

UK surname

Garvey

A surname of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic surname "Ó Gairbhith," meaning "descendant of the fierce warrior."

In the 1881 census there were 1,073 people recorded with the Garvey surname, ranking it #3,691 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 2,834, ranked #2,373, up from #3,691 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Rochdale, Gateshead and Manchester. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Neath Port Talbot, Stockton-on-Tees and St. Helens.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Garvey is 2,885 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 164.1%.

1881 census count

1,073

Ranked #3,691

Modern count

2,834

2016, ranked #2,373

Peak year

2010

2,885 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Garvey had 1,073 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #3,691 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 2,834 in 2016, ranked #2,373.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 1,385 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Garvey surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Garvey surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Garvey 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 374 #6,376
1861 historical 487 #5,363
1881 historical 1,073 #3,691
1891 historical 1,119 #3,798
1901 historical 1,322 #3,786
1911 historical 1,385 #3,478
1997 modern 2,642 #2,411
1998 modern 2,765 #2,402
1999 modern 2,800 #2,394
2000 modern 2,773 #2,401
2001 modern 2,695 #2,410
2002 modern 2,749 #2,419
2003 modern 2,746 #2,380
2004 modern 2,742 #2,385
2005 modern 2,701 #2,393
2006 modern 2,699 #2,394
2007 modern 2,737 #2,390
2008 modern 2,765 #2,387
2009 modern 2,822 #2,394
2010 modern 2,885 #2,391
2011 modern 2,821 #2,409
2012 modern 2,760 #2,420
2013 modern 2,806 #2,421
2014 modern 2,853 #2,391
2015 modern 2,837 #2,389
2016 modern 2,834 #2,373

Geography

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Where Garveys are most common

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

The modern local-area list points to Neath Port Talbot, Stockton-on-Tees, St. Helens, West Lancashire and Birmingham. 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 Rochdale Lancashire
2 Gateshead Durham
3 Manchester Lancashire
4 Liverpool Lancashire
5 London parishes London 2

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Neath Port Talbot 017 Neath Port Talbot
2 Stockton-on-Tees 010 Stockton-on-Tees
3 St. Helens 016 St. Helens
4 West Lancashire 004 West Lancashire
5 Birmingham 125 Birmingham

Forenames

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First names often paired with Garvey

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Garvey

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Garvey, 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 Garvey surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Garvey 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

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins

Within London, Garvey is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. 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

Scattered across London’s Inner and Outer suburbs, residents of these neighbourhoods are typically housed in the social rented sector. Although terraced and semi-detached houses predominate, more residents live in flats than elsewhere in the Supergroup. Neighbourhoods are more ethnically diverse than the Supergroup average. Those identifying as of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and some Black ethnicities are more prevalent. Europeans born in a overseas non-EU countries make up more of the lower proportion of residents identifying as White. Few residents are very old (85+). Employment in distribution, hotels and restaurants is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Garvey 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

Garvey 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 Garvey 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 Garvey, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Garvey

The surname Garvey is of Irish origin and is believed to have originated from the Gaelic word "garbh," which means "rough" or "coarse." It is thought to have been an occupational surname given to someone who worked with rough materials or had a coarse appearance or demeanor.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Garvey can be traced back to County Offaly in Ireland, where it was initially spelled as "Garbhaith" or "Garbhaigh." The name was first anglicized to "Garvey" during the 16th and 17th centuries.

In the Annals of the Four Masters, a medieval Irish chronicle, there are references to individuals with the name Garvey or its earlier spellings. For instance, in 1348, the death of Donough Garbhaigh, a chief of Calry in County Sligo, is recorded.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was William Garvey, who was born in County Offaly in the late 16th century. He was a landowner and is mentioned in the Fiants of Queen Elizabeth I, which were official records of the English Crown.

The Garvey surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. Marcus Garvey, born in 1887 in Jamaica, was a prominent Pan-Africanist leader and activist who founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL).

Other notable individuals with the surname Garvey include:

1. John Garvey (1892-1980), an American prelate who served as the Bishop of Winona from 1950 to 1967. 2. Steve Garvey (born 1948), a former professional baseball player who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, and was named the National League MVP in 1974. 3. Ralph Garvey (1924-2015), an American filmmaker and producer known for his work on the television series "Daniel Boone" and "The Rookies." 4. Kathleen Garvey (1957-2017), an American author and journalist who wrote for publications such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. 5. Edmund Garvey (1874-1949), an Irish Sinn Féin politician and member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) who was involved in the Irish War of Independence.

While the Garvey surname is most commonly associated with Ireland, it has also been found in other parts of the world due to Irish emigration and diaspora. The name has spread to countries like the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, where descendants of Irish immigrants have settled.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Garvey families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Garvey 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 414 Garveys recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.34x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 414 3.34x
Yorkshire 129 1.25x
Middlesex 101 0.97x
Durham 80 2.57x
Warwickshire 43 1.63x
Cheshire 36 1.56x
Northumberland 34 2.19x
Staffordshire 32 0.91x
Lanarkshire 28 0.83x
Lincolnshire 21 1.26x
Cumberland 19 2.11x
Kent 17 0.48x
Hampshire 16 0.75x
Nottinghamshire 12 0.85x
Surrey 10 0.20x
Gloucestershire 9 0.44x
Derbyshire 8 0.49x
Suffolk 8 0.63x
Worcestershire 8 0.59x
Angus 5 0.52x
Essex 4 0.19x
Glamorgan 4 0.22x
Royal Navy 4 3.21x
Shropshire 4 0.44x
Aberdeenshire 3 0.31x
Northamptonshire 3 0.31x
Cornwall 2 0.17x
Roxburghshire 2 1.06x
Selkirkshire 2 2.12x
Stirlingshire 2 0.52x
Sussex 2 0.11x
Berkshire 1 0.13x
Devon 1 0.05x
Dunbartonshire 1 0.36x
Fife 1 0.16x
Hertfordshire 1 0.14x
Monmouthshire 1 0.13x
Norfolk 1 0.06x
Pembrokeshire 1 0.30x
Perthshire 1 0.21x

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 86 Garveys recorded in 1881 and an index of 11.42x.

Place Total Index
Liverpool 86 11.42x
Manchester 56 10.04x
Birmingham 28 3.19x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 21 15.60x
Everton 19 4.81x
Sheffield 18 5.46x
Toxteth Park 18 4.29x
Ardwick 16 14.31x
Govan 16 1.91x
West Derby 16 4.41x
Ashton Under Lyne 15 5.54x
Islington London 15 1.48x
Middlesbrough 15 11.13x
St Marylebone London 14 2.51x
Wallsend 14 28.40x
Bridlington 13 54.85x
Newchurch 13 12.82x
Heworth 12 19.59x
Nottingham St Mary 12 3.29x
Portsea 12 2.86x
Bradford 11 4.39x
Harborne 11 9.73x
Wakefield 11 13.84x
Barony 10 1.17x
Cleator 10 26.71x
Darlington 10 8.33x
Newton In Makerfield 10 26.34x
Bradford 9 15.51x
Kirkham 9 54.91x
Much Woolton 9 53.51x
Radcliffe 9 15.06x
Alston 8 138.65x
Coventry St Michael 8 9.45x
Eccleston In Prescot 8 12.85x
Ipswich St Clement 8 24.73x
Minster In Sheppey 8 13.55x
Oldham 8 2.00x
Bishopwearmouth 7 2.62x
Brightside Bierlow 7 3.45x
Chesterfield 7 11.42x
Little Bolton 7 4.39x
Morpeth 7 38.29x
Runcorn 7 13.17x
Sculcoates 7 4.26x
Sedgley 7 5.34x
Tottington Lower End 7 11.88x
Aston 6 0.83x
Chadderton 6 9.90x
Conside Knitsley 6 24.82x
Manningham 6 4.70x
Manthorpe Cum Little 6 46.99x
Newcastle Under Lyme 6 9.62x
Northowram 6 8.27x
Ormskirk 6 25.30x
St Luke London 6 3.58x
St Pancras London 6 0.71x
Sunderland 6 10.93x
Tipton 6 5.56x
Bedlington 5 9.63x
Birkenhead 5 2.72x
Chester St John Baptist 5 12.06x
Clerkenwell London 5 2.03x
Deptford St Nicholas 5 17.67x
Great Grimsby 5 4.72x
Heap 5 7.60x
Kensington London 5 0.86x
Liscard 5 12.03x
Macclesfield 5 4.88x
Old Artillery Ground 5 55.62x
Paddington London 5 1.30x
Pennington In Leigh 5 21.02x
Shoreditch London 5 1.10x
Spotland 5 3.63x
St Anne Soho London 5 8.38x
Albrighton 4 91.74x
Arlecdon 4 16.72x
Hampstead London 4 2.46x
Newton 4 4.19x
Walton On Hill 4 5.96x
Westleigh 4 14.21x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 99
Ellen 36
Sarah 34
Elizabeth 31
Margaret 29
Ann 22
Catherine 20
Bridget 18
Jane 18
Alice 16
Annie 15
Julia 8
Kate 8
Rose 8
Eliza 7
Emma 7
Maria 6
Hannah 5
Martha 5
Agnes 4
Harriet 4
Isabella 4
Anne 3
Betsey 3
Esther 3
Florence 3
Lucy 3
Selina 3
Ada 2
Cath. 2
Clara 2
Emily 2
Frances 2
M. 2
Margarett 2
Susan 2
Theresa 2
Winifred 2
Adelaida 1
Amelia 1
Angless 1
Arrable. 1
Barbara 1
Bertha 1
Cornelia 1
Elenor 1
Emely 1
Isab. 1
Johanna 1
John 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 111
James 57
Thomas 46
William 37
Patrick 34
Michael 32
Edward 19
Joseph 17
Peter 17
Francis 13
Henry 13
Anthony 7
Richard 6
Charles 5
George 5
Robert 5
Albert 4
Daniel 4
Martin 4
Matthew 4
Samuel 4
Wm. 4
Dennis 3
Edmund 3
Frank 3
Frederick 3
Owen 3
Andrew 2
Arthur 2
Austin 2
Christopher 2
David 2
Denis 2
Felix 2
Infant 2
Jas. 2
Maurice 2
Walter 2
Alexander 1
Bartholemew 1
Bartholomew 1
Bernard 1
Catherine 1
Edwd. 1
Elias 1
Esey 1
Frances 1
Jane 1
Jno. 1
Job 1

FAQ

Garvey surname: questions and answers

How common was the Garvey surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,073 people were recorded with the Garvey surname. That placed it at #3,691 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Garvey surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 2,834 in 2016. That gives Garvey a modern rank of #2,373.

What does the Garvey surname mean?

A surname of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic surname "Ó Gairbhith," meaning "descendant of the fierce warrior."

What does the Garvey map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Garvey 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.