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

Caraway, 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 Caraway surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Caraway in America

Caraway is the 5340th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Caraway surname appeared 6,517 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Caraway.

We can also compare 2010 data for Caraway 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 Caraway

The surname Caraway is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old English word "carawey," which referred to the aromatic seed of the caraway plant. This plant was widely used in cooking and medicinal preparations during that time.

The Caraway name is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey commissioned by William the Conqueror to record land ownership and taxation in England. The earliest known bearer of the name was Robert de Carawey, who held lands in Wiltshire.

During the 13th and 14th centuries, the Caraway name appeared in various records and manuscripts, particularly in the counties of Wiltshire, Somerset, and Dorset. These records often referred to places with the suffix "-ey," which indicated a location where a particular plant or crop was grown.

One notable early bearer of the Caraway name was Sir John Caraway, a knight who fought in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 during the Hundred Years' War. Another was William Caraway, a merchant and alderman of the city of Bristol in the 16th century.

In the 17th century, the Caraway name spread to other parts of England, as well as to the American colonies. John Caraway, born in 1623 in Wiltshire, was one of the earliest recorded settlers with this surname in Virginia.

Other notable individuals with the Caraway surname include George Caraway (1645-1718), a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, and Hezekiah Caraway (1780-1854), an early settler and pioneer in Tennessee.

By the 19th century, the Caraway name had also become established in various parts of Europe, including Germany and the Netherlands, where it likely evolved from similar-sounding surnames related to spices or herbs.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Caraway

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

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

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

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