2000
#11,003
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,651
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.98
Rare Last name
Asberry
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "fort or stronghold among the ash trees."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,085 Americans carry the last name Asberry. That puts it at #11,235 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.90 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 111,104 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Asberry 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
3.1K
1 in 111,104
Census rank
#11,235
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,690 bearers of the surname Asberry in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.90 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11235th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Asberry, the largest self-reported group is Black at 58.6%. The next largest groups are White (32.8%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Asberry
The surname Asberry is believed to have originated in England, derived from a locational name referring to a place called Ashbury or Ashberry. The name is thought to date back to the 12th century, with records showing variations such as Ashebury and Asbury.
One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire from 1176, which mention a Hugo de Ashebury. This suggests that the name was already well-established in that region by the late 12th century.
The name is thought to be derived from the Old English words "æsc" meaning ash tree, and "bury" meaning a fortified place or manor. This likely indicates that the original bearer of the name lived near an ash tree or a settlement with ash trees.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are several entries for places with similar names, such as Asseberge in Worcestershire and Esseberie in Hertfordshire, which may have been the ancestral homes of some early Asberry families.
One notable bearer of the name was Sir John Asberry, who lived in the 14th century and served as a knight under King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War with France. He is recorded as participating in the Battle of Crécy in 1346.
Another historical figure was Thomas Asberry, a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of London during the late 16th century. He was involved in the lucrative cloth trade and served as a member of the Court of Aldermen from 1589 to 1602.
In the 17th century, a family of Asberrys owned land and property in the village of Ashbury in Berkshire, which may have been the original place from which the name derived.
Reverend William Asberry, born in 1685, was a notable clergyman who served as the rector of St. Mary's Church in Bicester, Oxfordshire, from 1718 until his death in 1756.
The name Asberry also has connections to places like Ashbury in Oxfordshire and Ashbury in Devon, which may have been the ancestral homes of different branches of the family.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Asberry
Among Census respondents with the surname Asberry, the largest self-reported group is Black at 58.6%. The next largest groups are White (32.8%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Asberry 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 Asberry surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American58.6% · 1,576
- White32.8% · 881
- Two or more races4.8% · 128
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 95
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Asberry
Asberry 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
#11,343
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,781
+130 bearers (+4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 340 places
2020
#11,235
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,690
-91 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Up 108 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,003 | 2,651 | 0.98 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,343 | 2,781 | 0.94 | +130 bearers (+4.9%) | Down 340 places |
| 2020 | #11,235 | 2,690 | 0.90 | -91 bearers (-3.3%) | Up 108 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 Asberry 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 | #11,343 | #11,235 | 1.0% |
| Count | 2,781 | 2,690 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.94 | 0.90 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Asberry bearers went from 2,781 to 2,690 (-3.3% change). The surname moved up 108 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,343 to #11,235.
FAQ
Asberry surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Asberry?
Name Census estimates that about 3,085 living Americans carry the surname Asberry. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 111,104 residents.
How common is Asberry?
Asberry ranks #11,235 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.90 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 2,690 people with the surname Asberry. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,085), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.9 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.90 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 Asberry.
Has Asberry become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Asberry went from 2,781 recorded bearers to 2,690. That is a decrease of 91 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,343 to #11,235.
What does the Census say about the background of Asberry?
Among Census respondents with the surname Asberry, the largest self-reported group is Black at 58.6%. The next largest groups are White (32.8%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Asberry in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.6% (1,576 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Asberry appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (58.6%), White (32.8%), Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Asberry (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 Asberry mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "fort or stronghold among the ash trees." 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 Asberry (0.90 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 Americans have the surname Asberry?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.