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

Bahney, 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 Bahney surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bahney in America

Bahney is the 100302nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bahney surname appeared 180 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 Bahney.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bahney 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 Bahney

The surname BAHNEY is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "bahne," which means "path" or "road." It is believed to have originated in the 14th century as a descriptive name for someone who lived near a path or road.

The earliest recorded instances of the BAHNEY surname can be found in various historical documents from the regions of Bavaria and Württemberg in southern Germany. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Johannes Bahney, who was mentioned in the records of the town of Augsburg in 1392.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the BAHNEY name appeared in numerous church records and tax rolls across various German principalities. Notable individuals with this surname include Hans Bahney (1512-1587), a respected clockmaker from Nuremberg, and Anna Bahney (1628-1701), a midwife from the village of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

As German immigrants began to settle in other parts of Europe and North America, the BAHNEY name spread beyond its original homeland. In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of this surname was Johann Bahney, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1749 from the Palatinate region of Germany.

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, several notable individuals bore the BAHNEY surname. These include Johann Friedrich Bahney (1768-1844), a Lutheran minister who served congregations in Pennsylvania; William Bahney (1802-1871), a prominent businessman and landowner in Ohio; and Mary Bahney (1842-1912), a teacher and activist for women's rights in New York.

In the 20th century, notable BAHNEY individuals included Walter Bahney (1901-1987), a renowned architect who designed several notable buildings in Chicago, and Elizabeth Bahney (1922-2003), a celebrated author and poet whose works explored themes of identity and cultural heritage.

While the BAHNEY surname may have evolved from its original German roots, it continues to be a part of the rich tapestry of global surnames, reflecting the diverse histories and migrations of families across continents and generations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bahney

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

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

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

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