2000
#28,888
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 775
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.29
Very Rare Last name
Atterbury
A locational surname derived from various locations named Atterbury in England.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 818 Americans carry the last name Atterbury. That puts it at #34,261 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.24 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 419,015 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Atterbury 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 Atterbury with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
818
1 in 419,015
Census rank
#34,261
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
713
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 713 bearers of the surname Atterbury in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.24 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 34261st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Atterbury, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.8%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Atterbury
The surname Atterbury has its origins in England, dating back to the Anglo-Saxon period. It is a locational name derived from the town of Atterbury in Oxfordshire, which itself is derived from the Old English words "æt þære" meaning "at the" and "burh" meaning "fortified place" or "borough."
One of the earliest known records of the Atterbury name is in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Atreberie." This suggests that the name was already well-established in England by the time of the Norman Conquest.
In the 13th century, the name was also recorded as "Atteburi," reflecting the evolution of spelling and pronunciation over time. The variations "Attbury" and "Attebery" were also found in historical documents from the 14th and 15th centuries.
One notable figure with the Atterbury surname was Francis Atterbury (1663-1732), an English prelate who served as Bishop of Rochester. He was a prominent figure in the Church of England and a controversial figure due to his Jacobite sympathies.
Another historical figure was Lewis Atterbury (1756-1822), an English Baptist minister and author who published several works on theology and religious education.
In the United States, John Atterbury (1783-1858) was a prominent lawyer and politician from Pennsylvania, serving as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1825 to 1829.
The Atterbury name can also be found in the literary world, with Grosvenor Atterbury (1869-1956), an American architect and author who wrote several books on architecture and design.
Lastly, William Wallace Atterbury (1866-1935) was an American engineer and railroad executive, serving as the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad from 1925 to 1935.
Throughout its history, the Atterbury surname has maintained a strong connection to its English roots, with many bearers of the name tracing their ancestry back to the town of Atterbury in Oxfordshire.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Atterbury
Among Census respondents with the surname Atterbury, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.8%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Atterbury 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 Atterbury surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.8% · 512
- Black or African American19.8% · 141
- Two or more races4.8% · 34
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Atterbury
Atterbury 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
#31,587
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 732
-43 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.25
Rank movement Down 2,699 places
2020
#34,261
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 713
-19 bearers (-2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.24
Rank movement Down 2,674 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #28,888 | 775 | 0.29 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #31,587 | 732 | 0.25 | -43 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 2,699 places |
| 2020 | #34,261 | 713 | 0.24 | -19 bearers (-2.6%) | Down 2,674 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 Atterbury 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 | #31,587 | #34,261 | -8.5% |
| Count | 732 | 713 | -2.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.25 | 0.24 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Atterbury bearers went from 732 to 713 (-2.6% change). The surname moved down 2,674 positions in the national ranking, going from #31,587 to #34,261.
FAQ
Atterbury surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Atterbury?
Name Census estimates that about 818 living Americans carry the surname Atterbury. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 419,015 residents.
How common is Atterbury?
Atterbury ranks #34,261 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.24 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 713 people with the surname Atterbury. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (818), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.24 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.24 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Atterbury.
Has Atterbury become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Atterbury went from 732 recorded bearers to 713. That is a decrease of 19 (-2.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #31,587 to #34,261.
What does the Census say about the background of Atterbury?
Among Census respondents with the surname Atterbury, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.8%) 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Atterbury in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.8% (512 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Atterbury appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (71.8%), Black (19.8%), 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 Atterbury (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 Atterbury mean?
A locational surname derived from various locations named Atterbury in England. 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 Atterbury (0.24 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 surname Atterbury?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.