2000
#9,133
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,284
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.22
Rare Last name
Arney
Derived from a place name meaning "eagle island" in Old English, or from a Norman personal name, Arnaud.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,508 Americans carry the last name Arney. That puts it at #10,048 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 97,706 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Arney 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Arney with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.5K
1 in 97,706
Census rank
#10,048
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,059 bearers of the surname Arney in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10048th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Arney, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Arney
The surname ARNEY is believed to have its origins in the Old English words "earn" meaning "eagle" and "ieg" meaning "island" or "watery place." This suggests that the name initially referred to someone who lived on an island inhabited by eagles or near an area where these majestic birds were commonly seen.
The earliest known records of the ARNEY surname date back to the 12th century in the county of Shropshire, England. In the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings and resources across England commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are several references to places with names similar to ARNEY, such as Earnedic and Ernedie.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the ARNEY surname was Sir John Arney, a knight who lived in Shropshire during the 13th century. He was a prominent landowner and is mentioned in various historical documents from that time period.
In the 16th century, the ARNEY surname began to appear more frequently in records across different regions of England. Notable bearers of the name include Thomas Arney (1533-1592), a clergyman and academic who served as the Archdeacon of Taunton in Somerset, and Elizabeth Arney (1610-1678), a wealthy landowner and benefactor from Gloucestershire.
As the ARNEY surname spread across the British Isles, variations in spelling emerged, such as Arny, Arnay, Arnaye, and Arnie. These variations were often influenced by local dialects and the whims of record-keepers who transcribed names based on their own interpretations.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, several individuals with the ARNEY surname made their mark in various fields. Among them were Sir William Arney (1641-1718), a Member of Parliament for Warwickshire, and Captain John Arney (1705-1778), a naval officer who participated in several significant battles during the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War.
As people bearing the ARNEY surname migrated to other parts of the world, the name took on new meanings and associations. For instance, in the United States, the ARNEY surname is often associated with individuals whose ancestors hailed from regions like Pennsylvania and Virginia, where early settlers from England and other parts of the British Isles established communities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arney
Among Census respondents with the surname Arney, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Arney 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 Arney surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.7% · 2,745
- Two or more races3.2% · 99
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 83
- Black or African American1.8% · 55
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 35
Timeline
Historical Census data for Arney
Arney 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
#9,548
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,405
+121 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 1.15
Rank movement Down 415 places
2020
#10,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,059
-346 bearers (-10.2%)
Per 100,000 1.02
Rank movement Down 500 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,133 | 3,284 | 1.22 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,548 | 3,405 | 1.15 | +121 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 415 places |
| 2020 | #10,048 | 3,059 | 1.02 | -346 bearers (-10.2%) | Down 500 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 Arney 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 | #9,548 | #10,048 | -5.2% |
| Count | 3,405 | 3,059 | -10.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.15 | 1.02 | -11.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Arney bearers went from 3,405 to 3,059 (-10.2% change). The surname moved down 500 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,548 to #10,048.
FAQ
Arney surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Arney?
Name Census estimates that about 3,508 living Americans carry the surname Arney. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 97,706 residents.
How common is Arney?
Arney ranks #10,048 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.02 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,059 people with the surname Arney. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,508), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.02 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Arney.
Has Arney become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Arney went from 3,405 recorded bearers to 3,059. That is a decrease of 346 (-10.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,548 to #10,048.
What does the Census say about the background of Arney?
Among Census respondents with the surname Arney, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Arney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (2,745 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Arney appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.7%), Two or More Races (3.2%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Arney (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 Arney mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "eagle island" in Old English, or from a Norman personal name, Arnaud. 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 Arney (1.02 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 many people have the last name Arney?
You can see how many Americans have the surname Arney on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.