2000
#28,947
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 773
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.29
Very Rare Last name
Amerine
Of French origin, derived from a term meaning "mariner" or "seafarer".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 907 Americans carry the last name Amerine. That puts it at #31,375 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.26 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 377,899 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Amerine 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
907
1 in 377,899
Census rank
#31,375
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
791
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 791 bearers of the surname Amerine in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.26 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 31375th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Amerine, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and Hispanic (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Amerine
The surname Amerine originated in France, with its earliest recorded appearances dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old French word "amer," meaning "bitter" or "sour," and may have been initially used as a descriptive nickname for someone with a bitter or sour disposition.
One of the earliest known references to the Amerine surname can be found in the cartulary of the Abbey of Montier-en-Der, which contains a record from 1273 mentioning a person named Gilles Amerine. The name is also documented in the census records of the city of Troyes in the Champagne region of France, where several families bearing the Amerine surname were recorded in the late 14th and early 15th centuries.
During the Middle Ages, the Amerine name was relatively widespread in northern and eastern France, particularly in the regions of Champagne, Lorraine, and Franche-Comté. Some variations in spelling included Amerin, Ameryn, and Amarine.
In the 16th century, a notable figure with the Amerine surname was Jean Amerine, a merchant and landowner from the village of Montbéliard in the Franche-Comté region. He was born around 1520 and is mentioned in local records as a prominent figure in the community.
Another historical figure was Pierre Amerine, a French soldier who served in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). He was born in the village of Lunéville in Lorraine around 1595 and gained recognition for his bravery in battle.
In the 18th century, a person of note was Jacques Amerine (1723-1789), a wine merchant from the city of Reims in the Champagne region. He was known for his expertise in the production and trade of the famous Champagne wines.
The Amerine surname also found its way to other parts of Europe, including Germany and Switzerland, where it was sometimes spelled as Amerin or Ameryn. In the 19th century, Joseph Amerin (1820-1892) was a Swiss politician and lawyer from the canton of Bern.
While the Amerine surname has its roots in France, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including the United States and Canada, where it is now found among families of French descent.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Amerine
Among Census respondents with the surname Amerine, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and Hispanic (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Amerine 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 Amerine surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.2% · 674
- Black or African American5.1% · 40
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 35
- Two or more races3.5% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Amerine
Amerine 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
#29,793
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 789
+16 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 0.27
Rank movement Down 846 places
2020
#31,375
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 791
+2 bearers (+0.3%)
Per 100,000 0.26
Rank movement Down 1,582 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #28,947 | 773 | 0.29 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #29,793 | 789 | 0.27 | +16 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 846 places |
| 2020 | #31,375 | 791 | 0.26 | +2 bearers (+0.3%) | Down 1,582 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 Amerine 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 | #29,793 | #31,375 | -5.3% |
| Count | 789 | 791 | 0.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.27 | 0.26 | -2.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Amerine bearers went from 789 to 791 (+0.3% change). The surname moved down 1,582 positions in the national ranking, going from #29,793 to #31,375.
FAQ
Amerine surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Amerine?
Name Census estimates that about 907 living Americans carry the surname Amerine. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 377,899 residents.
How common is Amerine?
Amerine ranks #31,375 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.26 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 791 people with the surname Amerine. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (907), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.26 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.26 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Amerine.
Has Amerine become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Amerine went from 789 recorded bearers to 791. That is an increase of 2 (+0.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #29,793 to #31,375.
What does the Census say about the background of Amerine?
Among Census respondents with the surname Amerine, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and Hispanic (4.4%). 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 Amerine in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.2% (674 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Amerine appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.2%), Black (5.1%), Hispanic (4.4%). 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 Amerine (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 Amerine mean?
Of French origin, derived from a term meaning "mariner" or "seafarer". 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 Amerine (0.26 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 Amerine?
Find out how common the surname Amerine is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.