2000
#5,156
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,244
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.31
Rare Last name
Atchley
Derived from a place name meaning "oak-tree meadow" in Old English, referring to someone who lived near such a meadow.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,814 Americans carry the last name Atchley. That puts it at #5,632 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.99 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 50,301 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Atchley 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
6.8K
1 in 50,301
Census rank
#5,632
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,942 bearers of the surname Atchley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.99 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5632nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Atchley, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Atchley
The surname ATCHLEY has its origins in England, tracing back to the medieval period. It is believed to be a locational name, derived from the old English word "aecer" meaning "field" or "acre," and the suffix "-ley" meaning "a clearing or meadow." This suggests that the name may have originated from a place where people lived or worked near a field or clearing.
Early records of the name can be found in the Domesday Book, a survey commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, which lists several individuals with variations of the name, such as Acherlay and Achelie. These early spellings reflect the evolution of the name over time.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname ATCHLEY was William Atchley, who was mentioned in the Court Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273. Another notable individual was John Atchley, a prominent landowner in Gloucestershire, who was recorded in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1327.
In the 16th century, the surname ATCHLEY began to appear more frequently in parish records across various counties in England. One notable bearer of the name was Thomas Atchley, a merchant from Bristol, who was born in 1542 and played a significant role in the city's trade with the Americas.
During the 17th century, the ATCHLEY surname spread beyond England, with some bearers of the name emigrating to the American colonies. One such individual was Richard Atchley, who was born in Gloucestershire in 1620 and settled in Virginia in the 1640s.
In the 18th century, the ATCHLEY surname continued to be found in various parts of England, as well as in the American colonies. One notable individual was John Atchley, a British soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War and later settled in Canada.
As time progressed, the ATCHLEY surname continued to spread across the globe, with bearers of the name making significant contributions in various fields, including politics, literature, and science. For example, Clair Atchley was an American author and journalist who lived from 1895 to 1973, and Edward Atchley was a British politician who served as a Member of Parliament in the 1950s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Atchley
Among Census respondents with the surname Atchley, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Atchley 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 Atchley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.6% · 5,326
- Two or more races3.8% · 228
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 203
- Black or African American1.3% · 76
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 69
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 40
Timeline
Historical Census data for Atchley
Atchley 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
#5,617
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,187
-57 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 2.10
Rank movement Down 461 places
2020
#5,632
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,942
-245 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 1.99
Rank movement Down 15 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,156 | 6,244 | 2.31 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,617 | 6,187 | 2.10 | -57 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 461 places |
| 2020 | #5,632 | 5,942 | 1.99 | -245 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 15 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 Atchley 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 | #5,617 | #5,632 | -0.3% |
| Count | 6,187 | 5,942 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 2.10 | 1.99 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Atchley bearers went from 6,187 to 5,942 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 15 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,617 to #5,632.
FAQ
Atchley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Atchley?
Name Census estimates that about 6,814 living Americans carry the surname Atchley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 50,301 residents.
How common is Atchley?
Atchley ranks #5,632 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.99 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,942 people with the surname Atchley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,814), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.99 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.99 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Atchley.
Has Atchley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Atchley went from 6,187 recorded bearers to 5,942. That is a decrease of 245 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,617 to #5,632.
What does the Census say about the background of Atchley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Atchley, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Atchley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (5,326 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Atchley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.6%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Atchley (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 Atchley mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "oak-tree meadow" in Old English, referring to someone who lived near such a meadow. 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 Atchley (1.99 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 Atchley?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.