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

Abney, 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 Abney surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Abney in America

Abney is the 3579th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Abney surname appeared 9,948 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Abney.

We can also compare 2010 data for Abney 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 Abney

The surname Abney has its origins in England, tracing back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word "aeppel-lea," which means "apple tree meadow" or "apple orchard." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this name lived in areas with significant apple cultivation.

One of the earliest recorded references to the Abney surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire, dating back to 1273. This document mentions a person named William de Abney, indicating the surname's presence during that period.

In the 14th century, the Abney name appeared in various historical records, including the Subsidy Rolls of Staffordshire from 1327, which listed a Robert de Abney. The Inquisitiones Post Mortem of Yorkshire from 1379 also mentioned a John de Abney.

The Abney surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest recorded was John Abney (c. 1380-1450), an English landowner and Member of Parliament for Derbyshire during the reign of Henry VI.

Another prominent figure was Sir Thomas Abney (1639-1722), a wealthy English businessman and philanthropist who became Lord Mayor of London in 1700. He is known for providing a home for the renowned writer and preacher, Isaac Watts, during the latter part of Watts' life.

Edward Abney (1767-1841) was a British chemist and mineralogist who made significant contributions to the study of minerals and their classification. He served as the President of the Royal Society from 1827 to 1830.

William de Wiveleslie Abney (1843-1920) was a renowned English astronomer, chemist, and pioneer in the field of photography. He developed several photographic techniques and served as the President of the Royal Photographic Society from 1892 to 1894.

Sir Ralph Abney (1887-1962) was a British businessman and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Windsor from 1924 to 1945. He played a significant role in the development of the British aerospace industry.

The Abney surname has also been associated with several place names in England, such as Abney Park in Stoke Newington, London, and the village of Abney in Derbyshire. These place names likely derived from the surname itself or vice versa, reflecting the historical connections between the name and specific locations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Abney

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

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

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

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