2000
#2,055
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,154
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.99
Uncommon Last name
Bartley
Derived from a place name meaning "birch tree meadow" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 18,366 Americans carry the last name Bartley. That puts it at #2,213 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.36 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 18,662 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bartley 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 Bartley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
18K
1 in 18,662
Census rank
#2,213
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,016 bearers of the surname Bartley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.36 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2213th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bartley, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Black (17.5%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bartley
The surname Bartley is of English origin, and it is believed to have emerged in the 12th or 13th century. It is derived from the Old English words "bere" (barley) and "leah" (meadow or clearing), suggesting that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a barley field or a meadow where barley was grown.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bartley can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1221, where a person named William de Berleye is mentioned. This spelling variation, "Berleye," is believed to be an early form of the name Bartley.
In the 13th century, the name appeared in various records, such as the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, which listed a Robert de Berleye. The suffix "de" was commonly used at the time to indicate a person's place of origin or residence.
The Bartley surname is also associated with several place names in England, such as Bartley Green in Birmingham and Bartley Mill in Hampshire. These place names likely contributed to the widespread use of the surname in different regions.
One notable person in history with the surname Bartley was Bertram Bartley (1843-1910), an English actor and theatre manager who served as the manager of the Haymarket Theatre in London from 1885 to 1900.
Another prominent figure was Sarah Bartley (1783-1850), an English-born Australian pioneer and settler who established the first hotel in the town of Windsor, New South Wales.
In the United States, Mordecai Bartley (1783-1870) was a prominent politician who served as the 19th Governor of Ohio from 1844 to 1846.
John Bartley (1820-1905) was an American journalist and publisher who founded the Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper in 1846, which became one of the most influential and long-running newspapers in New York City.
Lastly, Thomas Bartley (1782-1858) was an English cricketer who played for Hampshire and is considered one of the earliest professional cricketers in the game's history.
These examples illustrate the wide geographical spread of the Bartley surname and its presence in various fields, from politics and journalism to the arts and sports.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bartley
Among Census respondents with the surname Bartley, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Black (17.5%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Bartley 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 Bartley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.9% · 11,832
- Black or African American17.5% · 2,807
- Two or more races3.6% · 579
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 457
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 179
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 162
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bartley
Bartley 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
#2,175
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,689
+535 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 5.66
Rank movement Down 120 places
2020
#2,213
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,016
-673 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 5.36
Rank movement Down 38 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,055 | 16,154 | 5.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,175 | 16,689 | 5.66 | +535 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 120 places |
| 2020 | #2,213 | 16,016 | 5.36 | -673 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 38 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 Bartley 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 | #2,175 | #2,213 | -1.7% |
| Count | 16,689 | 16,016 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 5.66 | 5.36 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bartley bearers went from 16,689 to 16,016 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 38 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,175 to #2,213.
FAQ
Bartley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bartley?
Name Census estimates that about 18,366 living Americans carry the surname Bartley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 18,662 residents.
How common is Bartley?
Bartley ranks #2,213 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.36 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,016 people with the surname Bartley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (18,366), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.36 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.36 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Bartley.
Has Bartley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bartley went from 16,689 recorded bearers to 16,016. That is a decrease of 673 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,175 to #2,213.
What does the Census say about the background of Bartley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bartley, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Black (17.5%) 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 Bartley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.9% (11,832 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bartley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.9%), Black (17.5%), 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 Bartley (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 Bartley mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "birch tree meadow" 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 Bartley (5.36 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 Bartley?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Bartley on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.