Agee last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Agee

Derived from a Middle English nickname meaning "edge" or "point," likely referring to a sharp or keen person.

Agee, 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 Agee surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Agee in America

Agee is the 3304th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Agee surname appeared 10,857 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Agee.

We can also compare 2010 data for Agee 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 3304 3126 5.54%
Count 10,857 10,595 2.44%
Proportion per 100k 3.68 3.93 -6.57%

The history of the last name Agee

The surname Agee is of English origin, derived from the Old English personal name Aggi. This name is believed to have its roots in the Anglo-Saxon era, dating back to the 5th to 11th centuries AD. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was Agge, found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror.

Agee is thought to have originated in the county of Lincolnshire, England, where the name was first established. It was initially a personal name before evolving into a hereditary surname during the late medieval period. Some of the early recorded instances of the surname include Robert Agge, listed in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1166, and William Agge, mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273.

The name Agee has also been linked to various place names in England, such as Agg's Hill in Gloucestershire and Agge's Meadow in Wiltshire. These place names may have influenced the surname's evolution or been named after early bearers of the name.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Agee was Sir William Agee (c. 1490-1555), a prominent English landowner and Member of Parliament for Staffordshire. Another notable figure was James Agee (1909-1955), an American novelist, poet, screenwriter, and film critic, best known for his novel "A Death in the Family" and his influential film criticism.

Other historical figures bearing the surname Agee include:

  1. John Agee (1701-1782), an American Revolutionary War soldier and early settler in Tennessee.
  2. Jared Agee (1784-1848), an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Tennessee.
  3. Mary Towne Agee (1806-1884), an American educator and pioneer in the field of deaf education.
  4. Rufus Agee (1838-1924), an American Confederate soldier and lawyer.
  5. John Treadwell Agee (1840-1916), an American jurist and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hawaii.

While the surname Agee is not among the most common surnames, it has a rich history spanning several centuries and has been borne by individuals who have made significant contributions in various fields.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Agee

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

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 Agee was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 68.96% 7,487
Non-Hispanic Black Only 25.85% 2,807
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.42% 46
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.43% 47
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.49% 270
Hispanic Origin 1.84% 200

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 68.96% 71.66% -3.84%
Black 25.85% 24.71% 4.51%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.42% 0.31% 30.14%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.43% 0.52% -18.95%
Two or More Races 2.49% 1.58% 44.72%
Hispanic 1.84% 1.23% 39.74%

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

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

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

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

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

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