Bacchus last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Bacchus is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Bacchus.

Meaning of Bacchus

An English surname derived from the name of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, winemaking, fertility, and theater.

Bacchus, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Bacchus surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bacchus in America

Bacchus is the 9747th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bacchus surname appeared 3,325 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Bacchus.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bacchus to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 9747 11317 -14.91%
Count 3,325 2,562 25.92%
Proportion per 100k 1.13 0.95 17.31%

The history of the last name Bacchus

The surname Bacchus originates from ancient Greece, derived from the name of the god of wine, fertility, and ritual madness, known as Bacchus in Roman mythology and Dionysus in Greek mythology. The name is believed to have been adopted as a surname during the Middle Ages, possibly by individuals associated with wine-making or vineyards.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Bacchus can be traced back to 13th century England, where it appeared in various forms such as Bacche, Bachee, and Bache. These early spellings indicate the surname's Greek roots and its association with the god Dionysus/Bacchus.

One notable historical reference to the surname Bacchus comes from the 14th century work "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer, where a character named Bacchus appears as a representation of the god of wine and revelry.

In the 16th century, the surname Bacchus was found in various English records, including the Subsidy Rolls of Staffordshire from 1523, where a Richard Bacchus was listed. Around the same time, a John Bacchus was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1545.

Prominent individuals with the surname Bacchus include William Bacchus (1559-1639), an English clergyman and scholar who served as the Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Another notable figure was Roger Bacchus (1580-1644), an English lawyer and Member of Parliament during the reign of King Charles I.

In the 18th century, John Bacchus (1704-1786) was a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy and participated in several important battles during the Seven Years' War. Towards the end of the same century, Sir Edmund Bacchus (1757-1828) was a British naval officer who served as a captain during the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolutionary Wars.

One of the most celebrated individuals with the surname Bacchus was James Bacchus (1813-1887), a British-born Australian explorer and surveyor. He played a significant role in the exploration and mapping of Western Australia, and several geographical features, including the Bacchus Marsh region, were named after him.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bacchus

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Bacchus.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Bacchus was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 21.02% 699
Non-Hispanic Black Only 44.57% 1,482
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 24.06% 800
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 1.23% 41
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 6.47% 215
Hispanic Origin 2.65% 88

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Bacchus has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 21.02% 17.72% 17.04%
Black 44.57% 39.27% 12.64%
Asian and Pacific Islander 24.06% 17.72% 30.35%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 1.23% 1.01% 19.64%
Two or More Races 6.47% 21.78% -108.39%
Hispanic 2.65% 2.50% 5.83%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Bacchus was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Bacchus, please contact us.

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Bacchus last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 5, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/bacchus-surname-popularity/.

"Bacchus last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/bacchus-surname-popularity/. Accessed 5 December, 2024

Bacchus last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/bacchus-surname-popularity/.

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