2000
#10,212
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,896
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.07
Rare Last name
Averett
Derived from a place name meaning "estate of a man called Eofor" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,390 Americans carry the last name Averett. That puts it at #10,363 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.99 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 101,107 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Averett 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
3.4K
1 in 101,107
Census rank
#10,363
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,956 bearers of the surname Averett in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.99 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10363rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Averett, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.4%. The next largest groups are Black (19.4%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Averett
The surname AVERETT has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period of the 11th and 12th centuries. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word 'averet,' meaning a small horse or pony, which was likely an occupational name for someone who worked with these animals.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from the year 1195, where a person named William Averett is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already established in certain regions of England by the late 12th century.
During the 13th century, the name AVERETT appeared in various records, such as the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, where a Roger Averett is listed. The surname is also found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1275, further indicating its spread across different counties.
In the 14th century, the AVERETT surname continued to be documented in various parts of England. For instance, the Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire from 1379 mention a John Averett, while the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk from 1381 include a Thomas Averett.
One notable historical figure with the surname AVERETT was Robert Averett, who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Born in Gloucestershire around 1580, he was a prominent merchant and served as the Mayor of Bristol in 1623.
Another individual of note was William Averett (1646-1718), a English clergyman and academic who served as the Master of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, from 1705 until his death.
In the 18th century, John Averett (1713-1789) was a prominent landowner and Member of Parliament for Taunton in Somerset, England. He played a significant role in local politics and was known for his advocacy of agricultural reforms.
The 19th century saw the rise of Thomas Averett (1825-1901), a British industrialist who founded the Averett Engineering Company in Birmingham. His company became a leading manufacturer of steam engines and played a crucial role in the Industrial Revolution.
Another notable figure was Sir William Averett (1860-1935), a British diplomat who served as the Ambassador to Russia from 1918 to 1920, during the tumultuous years following the Russian Revolution.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Averett
Among Census respondents with the surname Averett, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.4%. The next largest groups are Black (19.4%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Averett 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 Averett surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.4% · 2,171
- Black or African American19.4% · 574
- Two or more races3.6% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 86
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Averett
Averett 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
#9,389
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,464
+568 bearers (+19.6%)
Per 100,000 1.17
Rank movement Up 823 places
2020
#10,363
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,956
-508 bearers (-14.7%)
Per 100,000 0.99
Rank movement Down 974 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,212 | 2,896 | 1.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,389 | 3,464 | 1.17 | +568 bearers (+19.6%) | Up 823 places |
| 2020 | #10,363 | 2,956 | 0.99 | -508 bearers (-14.7%) | Down 974 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 Averett 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 | #9,389 | #10,363 | -10.4% |
| Count | 3,464 | 2,956 | -14.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.17 | 0.99 | -15.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Averett bearers went from 3,464 to 2,956 (-14.7% change). The surname moved down 974 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,389 to #10,363.
FAQ
Averett surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Averett?
Name Census estimates that about 3,390 living Americans carry the surname Averett. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 101,107 residents.
How common is Averett?
Averett ranks #10,363 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.99 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 2,956 people with the surname Averett. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,390), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.99 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.99 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 Averett.
Has Averett become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Averett went from 3,464 recorded bearers to 2,956. That is a decrease of 508 (-14.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,389 to #10,363.
What does the Census say about the background of Averett?
Among Census respondents with the surname Averett, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.4%. The next largest groups are Black (19.4%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Averett in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.4% (2,171 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Averett appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.4%), Black (19.4%), Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Averett (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 Averett mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "estate of a man called Eofor" in Old English. 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 Averett (0.99 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 common is the surname Averett?
Find out how many people have the last name Averett on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.