Heffernan

English

Etymology

Anglicized form of Irish Ó hIfearnáin (“descendant of Ifearnán”), a personal name derived from a diminutive form of ifreannach (“demon”), from ifreann (“hell”).

Proper noun

Heffernan (plural Heffernans)

1. A surname from Irish.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Heffernan is the 5043^rd most common surname in the United States, belonging to 6961 individuals. Heffernan is most common among White (94.34%) individuals.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Heffernan”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 2, New York City: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 152.