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O'cleary Family History

O'cleary Name Meaning

Historically, surnames evolved as a way to sort people into groups - by occupation, place of origin, clan affiliation, patronage, parentage, adoption, and even physical characteristics (like red hair). Many of the modern surnames in the dictionary can be traced back to Britain and Ireland.


Similar surnames: O'leary, Mccleary, Cleary, Mcleary, O'lear, Clear, Clary, Mccreary

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Where is the O'cleary family from?

You can see how O'cleary families moved over time by selecting different census years. The O'cleary family name was found in the USA, and Scotland between 1871 and 1880. The most O'cleary families were found in USA in 1880. In 1871 there was 1 O'cleary family living in Dumbartonshire. This was 100% of all the recorded O'cleary's in Scotland. Dumbartonshire had the highest population of O'cleary families in 1871.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the O'cleary surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your O'cleary ancestors do for a living?

Census records can tell you a lot of little known facts about your O'cleary ancestors, such as occupation. Occupation can tell you about your ancestor's social and economic status.

What O'cleary family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 194 census records available for the last name O'cleary. Like a window into their day-to-day life, O'cleary census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for O'cleary

Passenger Lists

There are 63 immigration records available for the last name O'cleary. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Cards

There are 12 military records available for the last name O'cleary. For the veterans among your O'cleary ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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