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

Bachelor, 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 Bachelor surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bachelor in America

Bachelor is the 21895th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bachelor surname appeared 1,186 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Bachelor.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bachelor 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.

The history of the last name Bachelor

The surname Bachelor is of English origin and is derived from the Old French word 'bacheler', meaning a young man or a knight who had not yet attained the rank of a knight. It is believed to have emerged in the 12th century during the time of the Norman Conquest of England.

The name Bachelor was initially used as an occupational surname for those who were unmarried young men or servants. It was also used to refer to those who had attained the lowest rank of knighthood, known as a bachelor knight.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bachelor dates back to 1273, where a William le Bacheler is mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire. The Hundred Rolls were a series of administrative records compiled in the late 13th century, providing valuable information about landowners and their properties.

In the 14th century, the name Bachelor appeared in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire, which were financial records maintained by the Exchequer of England. The entry mentions a John Bachelor, who was likely a landowner or a taxpayer.

The surname Bachelor is also found in the renowned Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landowners and their holdings commissioned by William the Conqueror. However, the spelling in the Domesday Book is slightly different, appearing as 'Bachelere'.

One notable bearer of the surname Bachelor was Sir John Bachelor, who lived in the late 14th century and served as the Sheriff of Oxfordshire and Berkshire in 1395. Another prominent individual was Thomas Bachelor, a 16th-century English clergyman who served as the Bishop of Bangor from 1572 to 1580.

During the 17th century, the name Bachelor was associated with several notable individuals, including Richard Bachelor, a wealthy merchant and landowner who lived in Lincolnshire, and John Bachelor, a member of the Massachusetts Bay Colony who arrived in America in the 1630s.

In the 18th century, the name Bachelor was borne by James Bachelor, a British naval officer who served during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. He was born in 1726 and died in 1801.

Another notable figure was Sir Edward Bachelor, a British politician and Member of Parliament for Ipswich in the late 18th century. He was born in 1737 and passed away in 1799.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bachelor

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

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 Bachelor was:

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 Bachelor has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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 Bachelor was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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