Card last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Card

An English occupational surname for someone who carded wool or made and sold playing cards.

Card, 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 Card surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Card in America

Card is the 3651st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Card surname appeared 9,742 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Card.

We can also compare 2010 data for Card 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 3651 2652 31.70%
Count 9,742 12,532 -25.05%
Proportion per 100k 3.30 4.65 -33.96%

The history of the last name Card

The surname CARD is believed to have originated in England, with its earliest known records dating back to the 12th century. It is thought to have derived from the Old English word "ceart," meaning a cart or wagon, suggesting that the name may have initially referred to someone who worked as a carter or cartwright.

One of the earliest known references to the CARD surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from the year 1190, where a person named William Card is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already in use by the late 12th century in various parts of England.

In the 13th century, records from the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire mention a Robert le Cartere, which is likely a variation of the CARD surname, further indicating its connection to the occupation of cart-making or transportation.

During the medieval period, the CARD surname appeared in various forms, such as Carte, Cartes, and Carde, reflecting the variations in spelling and pronunciation common at the time. Some notable individuals bearing this surname include:

  1. John Carde (c. 1576 - 1654), an English lute player and composer during the Renaissance era.
  2. Sir Thomas Carte (1686 - 1754), an English historian and writer, known for his work on the history of England.
  3. Richard Carde (c. 1520 - 1570), an English Protestant author and polemicist during the Reformation period.
  4. William Carde (fl. 1625 - 1638), an English clergyman and author who wrote about the practice of witchcraft in his time.
  5. Henry Carde (c. 1588 - 1662), an English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament during the English Civil War.

In addition to these historical figures, the CARD surname has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Cardington in Bedfordshire, which may have influenced the development and spread of the name over time.

While the CARD surname has its roots in England, it has since been carried to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora, with people bearing this name found in various countries and cultures today.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Card

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

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 Card was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 82.91% 8,077
Non-Hispanic Black Only 8.58% 836
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.72% 70
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.80% 78
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.73% 169
Hispanic Origin 5.26% 512

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 82.91% 69.73% 17.27%
Black 8.58% 6.95% 20.99%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.72% 1.14% -45.16%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.80% 0.73% 9.15%
Two or More Races 1.73% 1.54% 11.62%
Hispanic 5.26% 19.91% -116.41%

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

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Card last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 13, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/card-surname-popularity/.

"Card last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/card-surname-popularity/. Accessed 13 October, 2024

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

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