2000
#121,058
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Carboy
An occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of carboys (large glass bottles).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 114 Americans carry the last name Carboy. That puts it at #156,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,006,617 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Carboy 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.
Bearers in the US
114
1 in 3,006,617
Census rank
#156,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 99 bearers of the surname Carboy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Carboy, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Carboy
The surname "CARBOY" originated in Ireland during the 8th century. It is derived from the old Irish Gaelic words "carr" meaning "rocky area" and "buidhe" meaning "yellow". This suggests that the earliest bearers of this name likely resided in a rocky, yellow-soiled region of Ireland.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name "CARBOY" appears in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, dating back to 789 AD. It mentions a clan leader named Aodh Carboy who led forces against Viking raiders in County Antrim.
By the 11th century, the name had spread to other parts of Ireland. The Lebor na hUidre, an ancient Irish manuscript from around 1106 AD, contains an entry about a Donnchadh Carboy, a renowned bard and poet from County Sligo.
During the Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century, the Carboys were among the Gaelic clans who fiercely resisted the Norman conquest. This is recorded in the Expugnatio Hibernica, a 12th-century chronicle by Gerald of Wales.
Notable Carboys from Irish history include Brian Carboy (c.1450-1512), a powerful clan chief in County Mayo, and Dervorgilla Carboy (c.1535-1609), a noblewoman and landowner in County Donegal.
As the surname spread across Ireland, it also took on different spellings such as Carbery, Carbry, and Carberry, often influenced by local place names like Carbury in County Kildare.
Other significant figures with the Carboy surname include Sir Edward Carboy (1678-1744), an Irish politician and landowner, and John Carboy (1825-1901), a prominent Irish-American businessman and philanthropist in New York City.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Carboy
Among Census respondents with the surname Carboy, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Carboy 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 Carboy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.9% · 91
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 2
- Two or more races2.0% · 2
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Carboy
Carboy 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-11 bearers (-8.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 17,246 places
2020
#156,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 99
-22 bearers (-18.2%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 17,701 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #121,058 | 132 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-8.3%) | Down 17,246 places |
| 2020 | #156,005 | 99 | 0.03 | -22 bearers (-18.2%) | Down 17,701 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 Carboy 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 | #138,304 | #156,005 | -12.8% |
| Count | 121 | 99 | -18.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -17.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Carboy bearers went from 121 to 99 (-18.2% change). The surname moved down 17,701 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #156,005.
FAQ
Carboy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Carboy?
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the surname Carboy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,006,617 residents.
How common is Carboy?
Carboy ranks #156,005 in the 2020 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 2020 Census file counted 99 people with the surname Carboy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (114), 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 Carboy.
Has Carboy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Carboy went from 121 recorded bearers to 99. That is a decrease of 22 (-18.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #156,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Carboy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Carboy, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%). 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 Carboy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (91 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Carboy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.9%), Hispanic (3.0%), American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%). 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 Carboy (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 Carboy mean?
An occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of carboys (large glass bottles). 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 Carboy (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 have the surname Carboy?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.