Binns last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Binns

Derived from the Welsh "ap Enion," meaning "son of Enion," a diminutive form of the Welsh name Einion.

Binns, 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 Binns surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Binns in America

Binns is the 7923rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Binns surname appeared 4,178 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Binns.

We can also compare 2010 data for Binns 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 7923 7599 4.17%
Count 4,178 4,036 3.46%
Proportion per 100k 1.42 1.50 -5.48%

The history of the last name Binns

The surname Binns originated in England and is derived from the Old English word "binne," meaning a bin or basket used for storing crops or grains. The name likely referred to someone who worked as a basket maker or seller of bins.

The earliest recorded instance of the name Binns can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Binnere" in Essex. This suggests that the name was already established in England by the 11th century.

During the 13th and 14th centuries, the name was primarily concentrated in the northern counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire, with various spellings such as Bynnes, Bynns, and Byns appearing in local records.

One notable early bearer of the name was Sir Robert Binns, a 14th-century landowner and knight who held estates in Yorkshire. He was mentioned in the Feet of Fines records for the county in 1329.

In the 16th century, the surname Binns began to spread more widely across England, particularly in the counties of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Staffordshire. The Binns family of Binns Hall, near Accrington, Lancashire, was a prominent family during this period.

A famous individual with the surname Binns was William Binns (1579-1654), an English lawyer and judge who served as Recorder of Leeds and was later appointed to the Court of Common Pleas by Oliver Cromwell.

Another notable figure was Thomas Binns (1636-1693), an English Puritan clergyman and author of several religious works, including "The Sinner's Redemption" and "The Christian's Guide to Eternal Life."

In the 18th century, John Binns (1713-1788) was a successful merchant and landowner in Yorkshire, known for his philanthropic contributions to the town of Bradford.

William Binns (1768-1842) was a prominent English Quaker and abolitionist who campaigned tirelessly against slavery and advocated for the rights of slaves in the British colonies.

The surname Binns has also been found in various place names across England, such as Binns Leys in Derbyshire and Binns Farm in Nottinghamshire, further reinforcing its historical roots in the region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Binns

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

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 Binns was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 58.33% 2,437
Non-Hispanic Black Only 35.54% 1,485
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.67% 28
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.24% 10
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.54% 106
Hispanic Origin 2.68% 112

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 58.33% 63.21% -8.03%
Black 35.54% 32.46% 9.06%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.67% 0.52% 25.21%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.24% 0.37% -42.62%
Two or More Races 2.54% 1.83% 32.49%
Hispanic 2.68% 1.61% 49.88%

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Binns last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/binns-surname-popularity/.

"Binns last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/binns-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Binns last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/binns-surname-popularity/.

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.