Lafferty
An Irish surname usually traced to Gaelic Ó Laifeartaigh, meaning a descendant of Laifeartach.
The #3,443 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 29,764 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Lafferty is generally taken as an Anglicized Irish surname from Gaelic Ó Laifeartaigh, meaning “descendant of Laifeartach.” The personal name Laifeartach is old and a little obscure; it is usually treated as a byname rather than a straightforward everyday word. Older writers also group Lafferty with spellings such as Laverty and Laherty, reflecting the many English renderings of the same Irish name.
History
The name is associated especially with Ireland, and in older surname studies it is commonly listed alongside the related forms Laverty and Laherty. It was carried into English records in several spellings, which can make family lines hard to track without local context. The surname remains most familiar today in Ireland and among Irish-descended families in North America.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname indexes often cross-reference Lafferty with Laverty and Laherty, showing how fluid Irish surname spelling could be in English records.
From the historical record
“Ladler, Ladly. See Laidlaw Laffeaty, Lafferty. See Laverty Laidlaw. A loc. n., Selkirk Laidlay. See Laidlaw La i ley. See Lely Laing. See Leng Laity. A loc. n., Cornw. See”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)