Explore the Family Name Whelehan
The meaning of Whelehan
Irish: from Ó Faoileacháin ‘descendant of Faoileachán’, a byname based on faoileach ‘joyful’.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Whelehan in the United States?
The Popularity data, sourced from the Decennial U.S. Census, shows a slight decrease in the prevalence of the Whelehan surname in the United States between 2000 and 2010. The rank of the name dropped by approximately 5.96 percent, moving from 94,227 in 2000 to 99,845 in 2010. However, the actual count of people with the last name Whelehan slightly increased from 180 to 181 during the same period. This indicates that while the name became less common relative to other surnames, the number of individuals named Whelehan marginally grew.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #94,227 | #99,845 | -5.96% |
| Count | 180 | 181 | 0.56% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.07 | 0.06 | -14.29% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Whelehan
In terms of Ethnicity, also based on the Decennial U.S. Census, there was a noticeable shift in the ethnic identity associated with the Whelehan surname between 2000 and 2010. The majority of individuals with this surname identified as White, with a percentage of 97.78 in 2000 dropping to 95.03 in 2010. During this decade, there was an emergence of Hispanic identification within this surname group, increasing to 2.76 percent in 2010. All other listed ethnicities (Asian/Pacific Islander, Two or more races, Black, American Indian, and Alaskan Native) reported zero percentage, indicating no significant representation within the Whelehan surname during this period.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 97.78% | 95.03% | -2.81% |
| Hispanic | 0% | 2.76% | 0% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Two or More Races | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Black | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0% | 0% |