NameCensus.

UK surname

Toohey

Derived from the Irish Gaelic Ó Tuathaigh, meaning "descendant of Tuathach," a personal name meaning "ruler of the people."

In the 1881 census there were 114 people recorded with the Toohey surname, ranking it #18,324 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 382, ranked #12,292, up from #18,324 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Rochdale, London parishes and Toxteth Park. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Liverpool, Wigan and St. Helens.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Toohey is 382 in 2016. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 235.1%.

1881 census count

114

Ranked #18,324

Modern count

382

2016, ranked #12,292

Peak year

2016

382 bearers

Map years

7

1881 to 2016

Key insights

  • Toohey had 114 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #18,324 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 382 in 2016, ranked #12,292.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 165 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Toohey surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Toohey surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Toohey 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 23 #29,205
1861 historical 43 #28,562
1881 historical 114 #18,324
1891 historical 107 #22,967
1901 historical 165 #17,085
1911 historical 121 #20,336
1997 modern 362 #11,866
1998 modern 362 #12,259
1999 modern 369 #12,147
2000 modern 356 #12,408
2001 modern 345 #12,504
2002 modern 352 #12,557
2003 modern 362 #12,114
2004 modern 352 #12,399
2005 modern 346 #12,464
2006 modern 348 #12,498
2007 modern 362 #12,271
2008 modern 371 #12,155
2009 modern 379 #12,224
2010 modern 373 #12,628
2011 modern 359 #12,856
2012 modern 357 #12,757
2013 modern 378 #12,422
2014 modern 378 #12,512
2015 modern 371 #12,567
2016 modern 382 #12,292

Geography

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Where Tooheys are most common

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

The modern local-area list points to Liverpool, Wigan, St. Helens and Bradford. 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 London parishes London 3
3 Toxteth Park Lancashire
4 Manchester Lancashire
5 Batley Yorkshire, West Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Liverpool 059 Liverpool
2 Wigan 021 Wigan
3 St. Helens 011 St. Helens
4 St. Helens 014 St. Helens
5 Bradford 039 Bradford

Forenames

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First names often paired with Toohey

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Toohey

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

Social Rented Sector Families with Children

Group

Social Rented Sector Pockets

Within London, Toohey 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

Toohey 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

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

Meaning and origin of Toohey

The surname Toohey originated in Ireland. It is an anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó Tuathchair, which means "descendant of Tuathachar". The name is derived from the Irish Gaelic word "tuath", meaning "territory" or "people", and the diminutive suffix "-char".

The earliest known records of the name appear in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. The Annals mention several members of the Ó Tuathchair family from County Mayo in the 13th and 14th centuries.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Aodh Ó Tuathchair, a prominent chieftain who lived in the late 13th century. He is mentioned in the Annals of Loch Cé, a manuscript dating back to the 14th century.

In the 16th century, the name appeared in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, a collection of royal letters and orders issued by the English monarchs during their rule over Ireland. The records mention a Richard O'Toohy who was granted lands in County Mayo in 1586.

During the 17th century, the spelling of the name began to evolve into its modern form, Toohey. One notable figure from this period was John Toohey, a Catholic priest who was executed in 1645 during the Confederate Wars in Ireland.

Another historical figure with this surname was Sir James Toohey, an Irish soldier who served in the British Army during the 18th century. He fought in the American Revolutionary War and was later appointed as the Governor of Grenada in 1789.

In the 19th century, the name Toohey appeared in various records and manuscripts, including the Ordnance Survey of Ireland, which documented the placenames and geographic features of the country. The survey recorded several townlands and localities with names derived from Ó Tuathchair, such as Toohey's Cross and Toohey's Bog.

One of the most famous individuals with the surname Toohey was John Toohey, an Irish-American labor leader who played a crucial role in the founding of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in 1886. He was born in 1856 and served as the organization's first president until his death in 1923.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Toohey families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Toohey 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. Yorkshire leads with 36 Tooheys recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.30x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 36 3.30x
Lancashire 32 2.45x
Middlesex 24 2.18x
Cheshire 9 3.70x
Durham 6 1.83x
Hertfordshire 2 2.63x
Berwickshire 1 7.49x
Devon 1 0.44x
Glamorgan 1 0.52x
Kent 1 0.27x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Dewsbury in Yorkshire leads with 10 Tooheys recorded in 1881 and an index of 89.29x.

Place Total Index
Dewsbury 10 89.29x
Islington London 10 9.36x
Widnes 8 84.84x
Holy Trinity 7 26.65x
Liverpool 7 8.81x
Bollington In 6 276.50x
Brightside Bierlow 6 28.01x
Horton In Bradford 6 35.17x
Hulme 5 18.31x
Ratcliffe London 5 82.10x
St Marylebone London 5 8.50x
Batley 4 38.54x
Gateshead 4 16.29x
Wigan 4 21.88x
Sharples 3 211.27x
Stockport 3 23.96x
Blackburn 2 5.75x
Dawdon 2 49.63x
St Andrew Holborn 2 53.48x
Watford 2 33.96x
Axminster 1 92.59x
Castleton 1 7.66x
Coldingham 1 83.33x
Leeds 1 1.62x
Mile End Old Town 1 5.75x
Sheffield 1 2.88x
St Sepulchre London 1 62.11x
Stainland Cum Old 1 53.48x
Swansea Town 1 6.36x
West Derby 1 2.61x
Whittingham 1 172.41x
Woolwich 1 7.20x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 13
Catherine 6
Bridget 4
Ellen 4
Elizabeth 3
Margaret 3
Sarah 3
Ann 2
Annie 2
Jane 2
Winifred 2
Agnes 1
Anna 1
Anne 1
Delia 1
Eleanor 1
Hannah 1
Julia 1
Kate 1
Margeret 1
Margret 1
Martha 1
Norah 1
Sophia 1
Winnefred 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 15
James 8
Thomas 6
Michael 5
Patrick 4
Edward 2
Joseph 2
Bernard 1
Daniel 1
Denis 1
Frederick 1
Jeremiah 1
Michill 1
Michole 1
Peter 1
Robert 1
Simon 1
Timothy 1
William 1

FAQ

Toohey surname: questions and answers

How common was the Toohey surname in 1881?

In 1881, 114 people were recorded with the Toohey surname. That placed it at #18,324 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Toohey surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 382 in 2016. That gives Toohey a modern rank of #12,292.

What does the Toohey surname mean?

Derived from the Irish Gaelic Ó Tuathaigh, meaning "descendant of Tuathach," a personal name meaning "ruler of the people."

What does the Toohey map show?

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