Find out how popular the last name Abbot is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Abbot.

Abbot, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Abbot surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Abbot in America

Abbot is the 27918th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Abbot surname appeared 859 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Abbot.

We can also compare 2010 data for Abbot to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Abbot

The surname Abbot is of Anglo-Saxon origin, derived from the Old English word 'abbot', which means the head of a monastery or a convent. This name was likely first adopted by someone who held this position or lived near an abbey.

The earliest recorded instance of the surname Abbot dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was spelled as 'Abbod'. During the medieval period, it was also spelled as 'Abot', 'Abott', and 'Abbote'.

In the 13th century, the name appeared in various records, such as the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, where it was recorded as 'Abbod'. The surname was also found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, where it was spelled as 'Abbot'.

One of the earliest known bearers of this surname was John Abbot, who was born in Reinstedburgh, Yorkshire, in 1587. He later became the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1611 until his death in 1633.

Another notable individual with this surname was Robert Abbot, an English theologian and writer who lived from 1560 to 1618. He was the Bishop of Salisbury and is known for his work titled "A Mirrour of Popish Subtilties".

In the 17th century, George Abbot, born in 1562 and died in 1633, was an influential figure in the Church of England. He served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1611 to 1633.

The surname Abbot was also associated with place names, such as Abbotsbury in Dorset, which was derived from the Old English words 'abbot' and 'burgh', meaning 'the fortified place of the abbot'.

Another notable bearer of the surname was Charles Abbot, the 1st Baron Colchester, who lived from 1757 to 1829. He was a British politician and served as the Speaker of the House of Commons from 1802 to 1817.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Abbot

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Abbot.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Abbot was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Abbot has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Abbot was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Abbot, please contact us.

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