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

Abernethy, 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 Abernethy surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Abernethy in America

Abernethy is the 11960th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Abernethy surname appeared 2,613 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Abernethy.

We can also compare 2010 data for Abernethy 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 Abernethy

The surname Abernethy originated in Scotland during the medieval period. It is derived from the place name Abernethy, which is located in Perthshire, Scotland. The name is believed to come from the Gaelic words "abair" meaning "confluence" and "nethy" referring to the River Nethy, indicating that it was originally a locational name given to those residing near the confluence of the River Nethy.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Abernethy surname can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which was a record of Scottish nobles and landowners who swore fealty to King Edward I of England. The name appeared as "Abirnethy" in this document. The Abernethy name was also mentioned in various charters and records from the 13th and 14th centuries, demonstrating its prominence among Scottish families.

The town of Abernethy itself has historical significance, as it was once an important ecclesiastical center and the site of a Culdee monastery founded in the 6th century. This connection to an early Christian community may have contributed to the surname's prestige.

Notable individuals with the Abernethy surname throughout history include:

1. John Abernethy (1680-1740), a renowned Presbyterian minister and philosopher in Ireland.
2. William Abernethy (1804-1873), a Scottish-American minister and educator who founded the Abernethy Institute in North Carolina.
3. James Abernethy (1814-1896), a Scottish-born Australian pioneer and politician who served as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.
4. Mary Anne Abernethy (1768-1845), a Scottish botanist and artist known for her illustrations of plant species.
5. Brice Abernethy (1873-1944), an American Baptist missionary and educator who worked in China for over 40 years.

The Abernethy surname has also been associated with various place names and older spellings. For example, the town of Abernethy was historically spelled as "Abirnethy" or "Abernethyn" in older records. Additionally, there are places called Abernethy in both Louisiana and Mississippi, likely named after early Scottish settlers in those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Abernethy

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

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 Abernethy 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 Abernethy 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 Abernethy was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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