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

Ackley, 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 Ackley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ackley in America

Ackley is the 4952nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ackley surname appeared 7,102 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Ackley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ackley 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 Ackley

The surname Ackley is of English origin and can be traced back to the late 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "ac" meaning oak and "leah" meaning a clearing or meadow. Thus, the name originally referred to someone who lived near an oak clearing or meadow.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ackley can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from the year 1195, where it appears as "Ackelie". This spelling variation likely reflects the regional pronunciation of the name at the time.

The Ackley surname is also closely associated with the village of Ackley in Hampshire, England, which was first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Accolei". It is possible that some early bearers of the surname hailed from this area or took their name from the village itself.

In the 13th century, a person named William de Ackley was mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Yorkshire from the year 1260. This is one of the earliest known instances of the surname being used as a hereditary family name.

Another notable early bearer of the Ackley name was Sir John Ackley, a prominent English landowner and politician who lived during the 14th century. He served as a Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire in 1386 and 1388.

During the 16th century, the Ackley surname can be found in various parish records across England, particularly in the counties of Hampshire, Somerset, and Devon. One notable individual from this time period was Thomas Ackley, a merchant and alderman from the city of Bristol, who was born around 1520.

In the 17th century, the Ackley name gained some recognition through the work of Samuel Ackley, an English clergyman and author who served as the rector of Woodborough, Wiltshire. He was born in 1604 and published several theological works during his lifetime.

Another notable figure with the Ackley surname was Sir Richard Ackley, a British military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in 1778 and achieved the rank of Lieutenant General before his death in 1847.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ackley

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!