2000
#6,223
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,061
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.88
Rare Last name
Abner
A Hebrew-derived surname referring to someone who is enlightened, understood, or knowledgeable.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,128 Americans carry the last name Abner. That puts it at #6,145 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 55,932 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Abner surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
6.1K
1 in 55,932
Census rank
#6,145
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,344 bearers of the surname Abner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6145th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Abner, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.7%. The next largest groups are Black (22.5%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Abner
The surname ABNER is of Hebrew origin, derived from the biblical name Abner, which means "father of light" or "father is a light". It is believed to have originated in ancient Israel during the time of the Old Testament.
The name Abner is mentioned several times in the Bible, most notably as the name of the commander-in-chief of Saul's army and a cousin of King Saul. Abner played a significant role in the power struggles between Saul and David, initially supporting Ishbosheth, Saul's son, as the successor to the throne, but later defecting to David's side.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname ABNER can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of landholders in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The entry "Abner de Burg" is listed as a landholder in Lincolnshire.
In the 12th century, a prominent figure named Abner of Burgos, also known as Alfonso of Burgos or Alfonso of Valladolid, was a Spanish Jewish scholar and philosopher who converted to Christianity and became a Christian polemicist and missionary.
During the English Civil War in the 17th century, Colonel Abner Dyer was a Roundhead officer who fought for the Parliamentarian forces against King Charles I. He was born in 1597 and died in 1670.
In the 18th century, Abner Nash (1716-1786) was a colonial leader and soldier from North Carolina who served as the governor of the state from 1780 to 1781 during the American Revolutionary War.
Another notable bearer of the surname was Abner Doubleday (1819-1893), a United States Army officer and Union general in the American Civil War. He is often credited, though controversially, with inventing the modern game of baseball.
The ABNER surname has also been associated with various place names and their older spellings, such as Abnerbury, Abnerton, and Abnersham, which were likely derived from individuals bearing the name who lived in or were associated with those locations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Abner
Among Census respondents with the surname Abner, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.7%. The next largest groups are Black (22.5%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Abner bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Abner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.7% · 3,620
- Black or African American22.5% · 1,202
- Two or more races4.6% · 247
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 147
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 104
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 24
Timeline
Historical Census data for Abner
Abner appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#6,143
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,577
+516 bearers (+10.2%)
Per 100,000 1.89
Rank movement Up 80 places
2020
#6,145
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,344
-233 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 1.79
Rank movement Down 2 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,223 | 5,061 | 1.88 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,143 | 5,577 | 1.89 | +516 bearers (+10.2%) | Up 80 places |
| 2020 | #6,145 | 5,344 | 1.79 | -233 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 2 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Abner surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #6,143 | #6,145 | -0.0% |
| Count | 5,577 | 5,344 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.89 | 1.79 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Abner bearers went from 5,577 to 5,344 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 2 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,143 to #6,145.
FAQ
Abner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Abner?
Name Census estimates that about 6,128 living Americans carry the surname Abner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 55,932 residents.
How common is Abner?
Abner ranks #6,145 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.79 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,344 people with the surname Abner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,128), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.79 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Abner.
Has Abner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Abner went from 5,577 recorded bearers to 5,344. That is a decrease of 233 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,143 to #6,145.
What does the Census say about the background of Abner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Abner, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.7%. The next largest groups are Black (22.5%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Abner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.7% (3,620 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Abner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (67.7%), Black (22.5%), Two or More Races (4.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Abner (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Abner mean?
A Hebrew-derived surname referring to someone who is enlightened, understood, or knowledgeable. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Abner (1.79 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Abner?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.