Battye
A locational surname derived from the village of Battye in Yorkshire, England.
According to the 2010 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 103 Americans carry the last name Battye. That puts it at #158,432 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,327,712 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Battye 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.
Battye appeared in the 2010 Census surname file but was not included in the published 2020 file. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames with at least 100 recorded bearers, so this usually means the name fell below that threshold.
Bearers in the US
103
1 in 3,327,712
Census rank
#158,432
2010 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Battye in its 2010 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 158432nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Battye, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.1%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Battye
The surname BATTYE originated in England during the late medieval period. It is believed to be a locational name derived from the Old English word "batt," meaning a flat area or broad valley. This suggests that the name likely originated from a place where early bearers of the name resided, such as a village or town situated in a broad valley.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the BATTYE surname can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1297, where a John de Batty is mentioned. This indicates that the name was already established in the Yorkshire region by the late 13th century.
In the 16th century, the BATTYE name appeared in various records across Yorkshire and Lancashire. Notable examples include William Battye, who was listed in the Wills at Richmond, Yorkshire, in 1551, and John Battye, recorded in the Yorkshire Parish Registers in 1587.
The BATTYE surname has also been associated with various place names throughout its history. For instance, the village of Batty in the West Riding of Yorkshire likely derived its name from the same Old English root as the surname. Additionally, the spelling variation "Battie" was commonly found in records from Lancashire during the 16th and 17th centuries.
One of the earliest notable bearers of the BATTYE name was Humphrey Battie (c. 1650-1723), an English physician and author who published works on medical topics and was a fellow of the Royal Society.
Another prominent figure was William Battye (1704-1776), an English clergyman and author who served as the Archdeacon of Cleveland and published several theological works.
In the 19th century, Charles Battye (1818-1896) was a prominent English architect who designed numerous buildings, including the Church of St. Michael and All Angels in Huddersfield.
Sir Anthony Battishill (1845-1922) was a British diplomat and civil servant who held various influential positions, including Governor of the Windward Islands and British Resident in Nepal.
More recently, John Battye (1914-1989) was an Australian historian and archivist who made significant contributions to the preservation of historical records in Western Australia.
Overall, the BATTYE surname has a rich history spanning several centuries, with its origins firmly rooted in the English countryside and its bearers leaving their mark across various fields, from medicine and literature to architecture and public service.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Battye
Among Census respondents with the surname Battye, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.1%.
The bar chart below shows how Battye bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2010 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 Battye surname at the time of the 2010 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.1%
- Unknown or suppressed4.9%
FAQ
Battye surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Battye?
Name Census estimates that about 103 living Americans carry the surname Battye. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,327,712 residents.
How common is Battye?
Battye ranks #158,432 in the 2010 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2010 Census file counted 102 people with the surname Battye. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (103), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Battye.
Has Battye become more or less common over time?
Battye appears here with 2010 Census data. When additional surname-file years are available for this name, Name Census uses them to show longer-term movement in rank and bearer count.
What does the Census say about the background of Battye?
Among Census respondents with the surname Battye, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.1%. These figures come from the 2010 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 Battye in the 2010 Census, accounting for 95.1%.
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Battye appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2010 file are White (95.1%).
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Not necessarily. Battye appears here with 2010 Census data, while the latest surname file loaded on Name Census is 2020. When a surname drops below the Census publication threshold, older rows can still be kept for historical reference even if the name no longer appears in the newest file.
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 Battye mean?
A locational surname derived from the village of Battye in Yorkshire, England. 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 2010 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 Battye (0.03 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 people are called Battye?
You can see how common the surname Battye is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.