Looking for information on the surname Hughes

[HinderRo6]

Hi there, could anyone tell me if the surname Hughes was a popular surname in County kilkenny and the wexford area in the 1850 -1880s. Jean

[Maiden Stone]

Robert E. Matheson, Registrar General of Ireland published a report on distribution of surnames. Included stats based on Births Index 1890, entries in each province and distribution by county.
Information on National Library of Ireland website
https://www.libraryireland.com/matheson/report/distribution-surnames.php

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[Maiden Stone]

You can check occurrences of birth, marriages and deaths for a surname in a registration district (+ non R.C. marriages from 1845) https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/

Lists of registration districts in a county
https://www.swilson.info/index.php
Select Registration Map Browse from menu. Enter name of a county.

[trewinb]

My great great grandfather was George Hart Hughes. He was an artist who was born in Gorey, Wexford in circa 1839 and emigrated to Montreal, Quebec where he married Margaret Whitty. He died in 1921. I would appreciate any information on his Irish family pre 1840's

[LH]

Hi

You can search for the surname Hughes on www.irishgenealogy.ie

Narrow your search down to Gorey initially before searching a wider area.  The name Hughes seems to have been very common around Gorey.

Happy hunting

[trewinb]

Thank you. I have tried a search there without success.

[heywood]

Hello,
It might be best if you start a new thread rather than continue this old thread.
Just click on ‘report to moderator’ and it can be split off.

I see a published tree with some doubtful information re birth and parents but the Canadian records which give ‘brethren’ as religion and some Methodist records.
I have seen Methodist records which give quite a bit of information.
Have you seen any other records for George which might be useful?
Do you have records which show he was born in Gorey?
My family have Whitty connections in Wexford so Margaret could be from there.

[heywood]

In 1871 he is dittoed as ‘Catholic’ though.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M42V-3QG?lang=en

[Zaphod99]

Short answer: yes.

Why

Griffith’s Valuation (c.1848–64) shows Hughes households scattered across multiple civil parishes in both County Kilkenny and County Wexford, indicating an established presence in the mid-19th century (your target period).

Surname authorities note that Hughes (largely from Ó hAodha) was “very numerous… especially in South Leinster and Munster”—which includes Kilkenny and Wexford. Wexford also had an Anglo-Norman Hughes line.

By 1901 the name ranked 40th in Ireland overall (11,720 bearers), which aligns with it being common in the late 19th century.


Tips if you’re researching the name there

Check parish-level entries from Griffith’s for the specific parishes/townlands of interest in each county.

Watch for related/overlapping forms and confusions in records (e.g., Hayes / O’Hea in the south vs. Hughes/ McHugh elsewhere).

Chat_GPT, via Zaph