2000
#4,702
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,895
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.56
Rare Last name
Ackley
Derived from a place name meaning "oak-tree clearing" in Old English, referring to someone who lived near such a clearing.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,781 Americans carry the last name Ackley. That puts it at #5,014 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.27 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 44,050 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ackley 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
7.8K
1 in 44,050
Census rank
#5,014
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,785 bearers of the surname Ackley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.27 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5014th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ackley, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ackley
Among Census respondents with the surname Ackley, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Ackley 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 Ackley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.9% · 6,099
- Two or more races4.0% · 273
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 198
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 123
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 50
- Black or African American0.6% · 42
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ackley
Ackley 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
#4,952
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,102
+207 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 2.41
Rank movement Down 250 places
2020
#5,014
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,785
-317 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 2.27
Rank movement Down 62 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,702 | 6,895 | 2.56 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,952 | 7,102 | 2.41 | +207 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 250 places |
| 2020 | #5,014 | 6,785 | 2.27 | -317 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 62 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 Ackley 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 | #4,952 | #5,014 | -1.3% |
| Count | 7,102 | 6,785 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.41 | 2.27 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ackley bearers went from 7,102 to 6,785 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 62 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,952 to #5,014.
FAQ
Ackley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ackley?
Name Census estimates that about 7,781 living Americans carry the surname Ackley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 44,050 residents.
How common is Ackley?
Ackley ranks #5,014 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.27 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 6,785 people with the surname Ackley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,781), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.27 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.27 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 Ackley.
Has Ackley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ackley went from 7,102 recorded bearers to 6,785. That is a decrease of 317 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,952 to #5,014.
What does the Census say about the background of Ackley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ackley, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Ackley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.9% (6,099 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ackley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.9%), Two or More Races (4.0%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Ackley (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 Ackley mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "oak-tree clearing" in Old English, referring to someone who lived near such a clearing. 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 Ackley (2.27 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 common is the surname Ackley?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Ackley at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.