Ackey last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Ackey

Derived from the Old Norse personal name "Áki" or the Old English oak tree, indicating someone living near oak trees.

Ackey, 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 Ackey surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ackey in America

Ackey is the 99378th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ackey surname appeared 182 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 Ackey.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ackey 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 99378 99725 -0.35%
Count 182 168 8.00%
Proportion per 100k 0.06 0.06 0.00%

The history of the last name Ackey

The surname Ackey is of English origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "ac," which means oak, and the suffix "-ey," indicating a meadow or clearing. This suggests that the name Ackey originally referred to someone who lived near an oak meadow or clearing.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ackey can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Acchey." This historical record provides evidence of the name's existence in England during the 11th century.

During the 13th century, the name Ackey was associated with several place names in various regions of England, including Ackey Green in Cheshire and Ackey Bridge in Lancashire. These place names likely originated from the surname itself or from the descriptive nature of the locations, which may have been near oak meadows or clearings.

Notable individuals with the surname Ackey include Sir John Ackey (1563-1638), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Salisbury during the reign of King James I. Another prominent figure was William Ackey (1701-1768), a British architect known for designing several churches and public buildings in London.

Other historical figures bearing the Ackey surname include:

  1. Robert Ackey (1587-1654), an English clergyman and writer.
  2. Elizabeth Ackey (1710-1782), a philanthropist and social reformer from Yorkshire.
  3. Thomas Ackey (1795-1871), a British army officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars.
  4. Henry Ackey (1829-1903), a renowned horticulturist and botanist from Kent.
  5. Margaret Ackey (1867-1941), an English novelist and poet.

Over the centuries, the surname Ackey has undergone various spelling variations, such as Ackie, Acky, and Ackie-y, reflecting the fluid nature of surname spellings in earlier times. However, the core meaning and origin of the name have remained consistent, tracing back to its Old English roots and the association with oak meadows or clearings.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ackey

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

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 Ackey was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 15.93% 29
Non-Hispanic Black Only 83.52% 152
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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 Ackey has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 15.93% 19.05% -17.84%
Black 83.52% 79.76% 4.61%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Hispanic (S)% (S)% (S)%

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

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

Reference this page

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"Ackey last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 4, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/ackey-surname-popularity/.

"Ackey last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/ackey-surname-popularity/. Accessed 4 December, 2024

Ackey last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/ackey-surname-popularity/.

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