NameCensus.

UK surname

Healy

Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó hÉalaighthe, meaning "descendant of Éaladhach," derived from éaladh, meaning "ingenious" or "clever."

In the 1881 census there were 1,974 people recorded with the Healy surname, ranking it #2,219 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 7,269, ranked #921, up from #2,219 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Govan Combination and Manchester. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Toryglen and Oatlands, Glenwood North and Largs Central and Cumbrae.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Healy is 7,470 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 268.2%.

1881 census count

1,974

Ranked #2,219

Modern count

7,269

2016, ranked #921

Peak year

2010

7,470 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Healy had 1,974 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #2,219 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 7,269 in 2016, ranked #921.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 2,212 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Healy surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Healy surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Healy 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 1,426 #2,018
1861 historical 1,244 #2,290
1881 historical 1,974 #2,219
1891 historical 2,192 #2,134
1901 historical 2,212 #2,446
1911 historical 1,651 #2,952
1997 modern 6,636 #977
1998 modern 6,882 #980
1999 modern 6,946 #980
2000 modern 6,984 #976
2001 modern 6,810 #976
2002 modern 6,955 #976
2003 modern 6,839 #964
2004 modern 6,890 #957
2005 modern 6,874 #947
2006 modern 6,942 #935
2007 modern 7,001 #936
2008 modern 7,079 #932
2009 modern 7,265 #929
2010 modern 7,470 #921
2011 modern 7,316 #927
2012 modern 7,201 #918
2013 modern 7,374 #913
2014 modern 7,437 #913
2015 modern 7,327 #919
2016 modern 7,269 #921

Geography

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Where Healys are most common

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

The modern local-area list points to Toryglen and Oatlands, Glenwood North, Largs Central and Cumbrae, Horsham and Roystonhill, Blochairn, and Provanmill. 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 3
2 Govan Combination Lanark
3 Manchester Lancashire
4 St Marylebone London (North Districts)
5 Liverpool Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Toryglen and Oatlands Glasgow City
2 Glenwood North Glasgow City
3 Largs Central and Cumbrae North Ayrshire
4 Horsham 010 Horsham
5 Roystonhill, Blochairn, and Provanmill Glasgow City

Forenames

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First names often paired with Healy

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Healy

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Healy, 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

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Healy surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Healy household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Social Rented Sector Families with Children

Group

Social Rented Sector Pockets

Within London, Healy is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Pockets, part of Social Rented Sector Families with Children. 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

Found in pockets across London, residents are less likely to live in private sector rentals and fewer adults are students. Fewer individuals work in transport and communications occupations relative to the Supergroup average. More individuals identify as Black and were born in Africa.

Wider London pattern

Residents of these neighbourhoods include sizable numbers identifying with ethnicities originating outside Europe, particularly in Africa or Bangladesh. The proportion of residents identifying as White, Indian or Pakistani is well below the London average. Neighbourhood age profiles are skewed towards younger adults, and above average numbers of families have children. Rates of use of English at home are below average. Marriage rates are low, and levels of separation or divorce are above average. Housing is predominantly in flats, and renting in the social rented sector the norm - few residents are owner occupiers. Housing is often overcrowded, and neighbourhoods are amongst the most densely populated in London. Disability rates are above average, although levels of unpaid care provision are about average. Employment is in caring, leisure, other service occupations, sales and customer service, or process, plant, and machine operation. Part time working and full-time student study are common. Levels of unemployment are slightly above average. Most residents have only Level 1 or 2 educational qualifications or have completed apprenticeships.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Healy 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

Healy 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 Healy is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 50-60 mbit/s.

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

8
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - Irish

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

Meaning and origin of Healy

The surname Healy originates from Ireland and dates back to the 12th century. It is an anglicized version of the Irish Gaelic name Ó hÉalaighthe, which means "descendant of the industrious one." The name is derived from the word "ealaidhe," meaning "ingenious" or "skilled."

The Healys were originally located in the counties of Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary in the southwestern region of Ireland. Early records show variations in the spelling, including O'Healy, O'Healey, and Hely. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name is found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions an individual named Donnchadh Ó hÉalaighthe in the year 1354.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Healys were prominent landowners in County Clare. The name appears in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, a collection of official records from the 16th century, which mentions several individuals with the surname Healy.

One notable figure from history is John Healy, a 17th-century Irish lawyer and politician who served as Chief Baron of the Exchequer in Ireland from 1658 to 1660. Another individual of note is George Peter Alexander Healy (1808-1894), an American portrait painter renowned for his paintings of prominent figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant.

A famous literary figure with the surname Healy is Seamus Healy (1918-2008), an Irish author and playwright. His works include the novels "The Archimage's Apprentice" and "The Latecomers." In the field of sports, Denis Healy (born 1938) was an Irish hurler who played for the Tipperary senior team and won two All-Ireland medals.

The surname Healy also has a connection to the town of Nenagh in County Tipperary. The Healy family was once the lord of the manor in the nearby village of Tyone, and their name is associated with several local place names, such as Healystown and Healy's Bridge.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Healy families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Healy 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 422 Healys recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.84x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 422 1.84x
Middlesex 350 1.81x
Lanarkshire 123 1.97x
Yorkshire 121 0.63x
Surrey 118 1.25x
Durham 59 1.03x
Glamorgan 56 1.66x
Midlothian 50 1.93x
Kent 43 0.65x
Cheshire 41 0.96x
Worcestershire 41 1.62x
Hampshire 37 0.93x
Lincolnshire 36 1.16x
Devon 35 0.87x
Buckinghamshire 33 2.82x
Staffordshire 31 0.48x
Northumberland 30 1.04x
Monmouthshire 26 1.86x
Nottinghamshire 24 0.92x
Sussex 21 0.64x
Essex 19 0.50x
Shropshire 19 1.14x
Warwickshire 19 0.39x
Leicestershire 16 0.75x
Gloucestershire 14 0.37x
Angus 13 0.73x
West Lothian 13 4.46x
Cornwall 12 0.55x
Northamptonshire 12 0.66x
Berwickshire 10 4.27x
Brecknockshire 10 2.59x
Cumberland 10 0.60x
Derbyshire 10 0.33x
Perthshire 10 1.15x
Channel Islands 9 1.57x
Ayrshire 8 0.55x
Rutland 8 5.64x
East Lothian 7 2.73x
Fife 7 0.61x
Denbighshire 5 0.68x
Dunbartonshire 5 0.96x
Renfrewshire 5 0.33x
Stirlingshire 5 0.70x
Berkshire 4 0.28x
Flintshire 4 0.77x
Norfolk 4 0.13x
Roxburghshire 4 1.14x
Suffolk 4 0.17x
Oxfordshire 3 0.25x
Royal Navy 3 1.30x
Caernarfonshire 2 0.26x
Hertfordshire 2 0.15x
Anglesey 1 0.29x
Bedfordshire 1 0.10x
Buteshire 1 0.85x
Cambridgeshire 1 0.08x
Herefordshire 1 0.13x
Isle of Man 1 0.28x
Montgomeryshire 1 0.23x
Somerset 1 0.03x
Wiltshire 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. St Marylebone London in Middlesex leads with 54 Healys recorded in 1881 and an index of 5.23x.

Place Total Index
St Marylebone London 54 5.23x
Liverpool 51 3.66x
Manchester 48 4.65x
Glasgow 37 3.33x
Govan 36 2.33x
Islington London 34 1.81x
St Pancras London 34 2.18x
Everton 27 3.69x
Barony 26 1.64x
Merthyr Tydfil 26 8.04x
Great Bolton 22 7.24x
Shoreditch London 22 2.62x
West Calder 22 43.10x
Kidderminster Borough 19 12.86x
St George Hanover Square 18 5.28x
Twickenham 18 21.71x
Camberwell 17 1.38x
Bermondsey 16 2.78x
Portsea 16 2.06x
Salford 16 2.37x
Birkenhead 15 4.41x
Chelsea London 15 2.57x
Dewsbury 15 7.63x
Plymouth St Andrew 15 4.84x
Toxteth Park 15 1.93x
Hackney London 14 1.29x
Warrington 14 5.15x
Bedwellty 13 5.27x
Elswick 13 5.66x
Kensington London 13 1.21x
Bromsgrove 12 14.12x
Dundee 12 1.79x
Stoke Damerel 12 4.26x
Willesden 12 6.58x
Battersea 11 1.55x
Broughton In Salford 11 5.24x
Southwark St George Martyr 11 2.83x
Taplow 11 156.25x
Wigan 11 3.43x
Birmingham 10 0.62x
Brecknock St John 10 30.67x
Broseley 10 33.69x
Bury 10 3.82x
Earlston 10 85.32x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 10 0.96x
Leicester St Margaret 10 1.91x
Lewes St Ann 10 90.09x
Little Bolton 10 3.39x
Normanton 10 17.37x
Nottingham St Mary 10 1.48x
Penge 10 8.10x
Tonge 10 20.78x
Blackburn 9 1.47x
Hartlepool 9 11.01x
Maryhill 9 7.35x
Oldham 9 1.22x
Over Darwen 9 4.91x
Preston 9 1.47x
Cheam 8 79.37x
Chorlton On Medlock 8 2.20x
Darlington 8 3.60x
Farnworth 8 5.82x
Lambeth 8 0.47x
Livingstone 8 80.56x
Nottingham St Peter 8 27.54x
Spalding 8 13.04x
St George In East London 8 4.40x
Stoke Upon Trent 8 1.16x
Trimdon 8 39.35x
Walton On Thames 8 18.49x
West Derby 8 1.19x
Westminster St John 8 3.40x
Whitwood 8 29.40x
Cornworthy 7 252.71x
Penderry 7 117.06x
St Giles In Fields London 7 7.38x
St Gilesin Fields London 7 42.79x
Stockbridge 7 121.11x
Studley Roger 7 714.29x
Waddington 7 123.89x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 163
Elizabeth 50
Margaret 45
Catherine 41
Ellen 40
Sarah 39
Ann 29
Bridget 22
Annie 21
Alice 20
Eliza 16
Jane 16
Emma 15
Hannah 14
Martha 13
Julia 12
Maria 12
Charlotte 10
Anne 8
Caroline 8
Emily 8
Rose 8
Harriet 7
Sophia 7
Elizth. 6
Ada 5
Agnes 5
Amelia 5
Florence 5
Kate 5
Lydia 5
Edith 4
Fanny 4
Frances 4
Harriett 4
Helen 4
Henrietta 4
Johanna 4
Anna 3
Catharine 3
Eliz. 3
Esther 3
Isabella 3
Johana 3
Margt. 3
Norah 3
Susan 3
Cathine. 2
M. 2
Maggie 2

Top male names

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

FAQ

Healy surname: questions and answers

How common was the Healy surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,974 people were recorded with the Healy surname. That placed it at #2,219 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Healy surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 7,269 in 2016. That gives Healy a modern rank of #921.

What does the Healy surname mean?

Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó hÉalaighthe, meaning "descendant of Éaladhach," derived from éaladh, meaning "ingenious" or "clever."

What does the Healy map show?

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