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

Apostle, 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 Apostle surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Apostle in America

Apostle is the 66371st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Apostle surname appeared 298 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 Apostle.

We can also compare 2010 data for Apostle 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 Apostle

The surname Apostle is an English occupational surname that originated in the medieval period. It derived from the Greek word "apostolos," meaning "messenger" or "one who is sent." The name likely referred to someone who served as a messenger or emissary, perhaps in a religious or official capacity.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Apostle can be found in medieval English documents, such as the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which recorded landowners and taxpayers. One of the earliest known individuals with this surname was Robert Apostle, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327.

In the 16th century, the Apostle surname appeared in various parish records across England. For example, the marriage of John Apostle and Alyce Smyth was recorded in the parish of St. Peter's, Cornhill, London, in 1560.

The surname Apostle is also associated with several notable historical figures. One such individual was John Apostle, a Puritan minister who lived in the 17th century and served as the pastor of the First Church of Cambridge, Massachusetts, from 1659 to 1694.

Another prominent bearer of the Apostle surname was Richard Apostle (1620-1670), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Stamford during the Commonwealth period. He was a supporter of Oliver Cromwell and played a role in the English Civil War.

In the 18th century, the Apostle surname was found in the records of the Society of Friends (Quakers). One Quaker with this surname was Samuel Apostle (1706-1788), who was born in Pennsylvania and became a successful merchant and landowner.

The surname Apostle has also been associated with several places in England. For example, there is an Apostle's Hill in Kent, which may have derived its name from an early inhabitant with the Apostle surname.

Other notable individuals with the Apostle surname include Thomas Apostle (1792-1872), an English Quaker minister and writer, and George Apostle (1818-1891), a British artist and engraver who specialized in sporting subjects.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Apostle

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

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

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