2000
#13,488
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,068
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.77
Rare Last name
Batty
Derived from a nickname for a person exhibiting eccentric, crazy, or unpredictable behavior, from the Middle English "batti."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,444 Americans carry the last name Batty. That puts it at #13,614 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 140,243 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Batty 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 Batty with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 140,243
Census rank
#13,614
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,131 bearers of the surname Batty in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13614th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Batty, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.7%. The next largest groups are Black (9.6%) and Hispanic (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Batty
The surname Batty is of English origin, and it is derived from the Old English word "bat," which means a bat or a stick used for hitting. This surname was likely given as a nickname to someone with a physical resemblance to a bat or someone who worked with bats or sticks.
The earliest recorded instance of the surname Batty can be found in the Hundredorum Rolls of Yorkshire in 1273, where it appears as "Baty." This indicates that the name was already in use by the 13th century in the northern counties of England.
In the 14th century, the name was recorded as "Baty" in the Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire in 1379. The variant spelling "Battie" was also found in the same records, suggesting that the name had already begun to evolve into its modern form.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname Batty was John Baty, who was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1379. He was likely a landowner or a person of some social standing in the region.
In the 16th century, the surname Batty was recorded in various parish records across England. For instance, William Batty was christened in Loughborough, Leicestershire, in 1565, and Thomas Batty was married in Doncaster, Yorkshire, in 1583.
Notable individuals with the surname Batty include:
1. Richard Batty (c. 1570-1644), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Master of Jesus College, Cambridge, from 1632 until his death.
2. William Batty (1687-1744), an English mathematician and writer who published several works on mathematics and navigation.
3. Robert Batty (1789-1848), an English artist and engraver known for his landscape paintings and etchings of Yorkshire.
4. Joseph Batty (1828-1892), an English cricketer who played for Yorkshire and the North of England in the mid-19th century.
5. Beatrice Batty (1888-1966), an English suffragette and activist who campaigned for women's rights and was imprisoned for her involvement in the suffrage movement.
The surname Batty has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Batty Green in Nottinghamshire and Batty Moss in Yorkshire, further highlighting its deep roots in the region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Batty
Among Census respondents with the surname Batty, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.7%. The next largest groups are Black (9.6%) and Hispanic (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Batty 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 Batty surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.7% · 1,719
- Black or African American9.6% · 205
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 110
- Two or more races3.6% · 76
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Batty
Batty 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
#13,752
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,200
+132 bearers (+6.4%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 264 places
2020
#13,614
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,131
-69 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Up 138 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,488 | 2,068 | 0.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,752 | 2,200 | 0.75 | +132 bearers (+6.4%) | Down 264 places |
| 2020 | #13,614 | 2,131 | 0.71 | -69 bearers (-3.1%) | Up 138 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 Batty 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 | #13,752 | #13,614 | 1.0% |
| Count | 2,200 | 2,131 | -3.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.75 | 0.71 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Batty bearers went from 2,200 to 2,131 (-3.1% change). The surname moved up 138 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,752 to #13,614.
FAQ
Batty surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Batty?
Name Census estimates that about 2,444 living Americans carry the surname Batty. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 140,243 residents.
How common is Batty?
Batty ranks #13,614 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.71 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 2,131 people with the surname Batty. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,444), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.71 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 Batty.
Has Batty become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Batty went from 2,200 recorded bearers to 2,131. That is a decrease of 69 (-3.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,752 to #13,614.
What does the Census say about the background of Batty?
Among Census respondents with the surname Batty, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.7%. The next largest groups are Black (9.6%) and Hispanic (5.2%). 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 Batty in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.7% (1,719 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Batty appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.7%), Black (9.6%), Hispanic (5.2%). 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 Batty (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 Batty mean?
Derived from a nickname for a person exhibiting eccentric, crazy, or unpredictable behavior, from the Middle English "batti." 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 Batty (0.71 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 many Americans have the surname Batty?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.