Adger last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Adger

English occupational surname for someone who made or used an adze, a cutting tool used for shaping wood.

Adger, 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 Adger surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Adger in America

Adger is the 26471st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Adger surname appeared 922 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 Adger.

We can also compare 2010 data for Adger 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 26471 24969 5.84%
Count 922 934 -1.29%
Proportion per 100k 0.31 0.35 -12.12%

The history of the last name Adger

The surname Adger has its origins in England, with records dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "adgar," which means "prosperous spear." The name may also be a variant of the personal name Edgar or a locational name referring to a place called Adgarhope in Durham.

One of the earliest documented references to the name Adger can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1273, where a William Adgar is mentioned. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1275 also list a Willelmus Adgar in the county of Norfolk.

In the 14th century, the Adger surname appeared in various spellings, including Adgar, Adegar, and Adeger. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 record a Johannes Adger, while the Calendarium Inquisitionum post Mortem from 1387 mentions a Robert Adger in Kent.

During the 15th century, the name Adger was concentrated in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Yorkshire. The Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk in 1524 list a John Adger, and the Hearth Tax Rolls of Yorkshire in 1672 mention a Thomas Adger.

One notable bearer of the Adger surname was Robert Adger (1625-1688), a merchant and landowner from Norfolk. He was involved in the wool trade and owned several properties in the area.

Another individual with this surname was John Adger (1760-1827), a Scottish-born farmer and landowner who emigrated to South Carolina in the late 18th century. He acquired a large plantation and was a prominent figure in the local community.

In the 19th century, William Adger (1814-1899) was a successful businessman and philanthropist from Charleston, South Carolina. He founded the Adger Iron Works and was a major donor to educational institutions in the region.

James Adger Smyth (1838-1906), born in Charleston, South Carolina, was a Baptist minister and educator. He served as a professor at the University of South Carolina and was a prominent advocate for religious education.

Thomas Adger (1860-1932), also from Charleston, was a physician and surgeon who made significant contributions to the field of gynecology and obstetrics. He served as the president of the American Gynecological Society and authored several medical texts.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Adger

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

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 Adger was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 9.87% 91
Non-Hispanic Black Only 83.19% 767
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.65% 6
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 3.80% 35
Hispanic Origin 2.49% 23

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 9.87% 14.67% -39.12%
Black 83.19% 79.98% 3.93%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.65% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 3.80% 2.68% 34.57%
Hispanic 2.49% 1.93% 25.34%

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Adger, 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!

"Adger last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 5, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/adger-surname-popularity/.

"Adger last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/adger-surname-popularity/. Accessed 5 October, 2024

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

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.