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

Archibald, 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 Archibald surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Archibald in America

Archibald is the 4242nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Archibald surname appeared 8,359 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Archibald.

We can also compare 2010 data for Archibald 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 Archibald

The surname Archibald is of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic personal name Gilleasbaig, which means "true leader of men." The name is believed to have originated in the 12th century in the Highlands of Scotland.

Archibald is a combination of the Gaelic elements "ard," meaning "high" or "elevated," and "bald," meaning "prince" or "leader." This suggests that the name was likely borne by someone of high rank or authority in the early days of Scottish clans.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Archibald is found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which was a record of Scottish nobles who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. The name appears as "Archibaldus de Duglas," referring to a member of the powerful Douglas family.

In the 14th century, Archibald Douglas, Lord of Galloway, was a prominent Scottish noble and a supporter of Robert the Bruce in the Scottish Wars of Independence. He played a crucial role in the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, where the Scots defeated the English army.

Another notable figure bearing the name Archibald was Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll (1629-1685), a Scottish nobleman and soldier who played a significant role in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which led to the overthrow of King James II of England and the establishment of the constitutional monarchy.

In the 16th century, the name Archibald was also associated with the powerful Clan Macnab, who were based in the Loch Tay area of Perthshire. The clan's ancestral lands included the lands of Bovain and Innis-abhric, which may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the name Archibald.

Other notable individuals with the surname Archibald throughout history include Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery (1847-1929), a British statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1894 to 1895, and Archibald Peyton Carr (1909-1987), an American military officer and diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Panama from 1964 to 1967.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Archibald

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

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

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

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