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

Carnegie, 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 Carnegie surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Carnegie in America

Carnegie is the 16525th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Carnegie surname appeared 1,738 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 Carnegie.

We can also compare 2010 data for Carnegie 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 Carnegie

The surname Carnegie is of Scottish origin, deriving from the lands of Carnegie in the parish of Carmyllie, Angus. It is believed to have originated from the Gaelic words 'carn' meaning 'hill' and 'eidh' meaning 'residence', suggesting it was initially a locational name given to someone who resided near a prominent hill or cairn.

The earliest known record of the name appears in the late 12th century, when a person named John de Carnegy is mentioned in the Arbroath Abbey Liber as a witness to a charter granted by King William the Lion. This suggests the family held lands in Angus at that time.

In the 13th century, the name is recorded as Carnegy, Carnagie, and Carnegi, indicating variations in spelling were common. The Carnegies of Kinnaird, near Brechin, became one of the principal branches of the family, with their estate passing down through generations.

One notable figure was Sir Robert Carnegie, who was knighted by King James VI in 1616 and later served as Lord of Session with the judicial title Lord Carnegie. His grandson, David Carnegie, Earl of Southesk, was a prominent Jacobite supporter during the 17th century uprisings.

Another branch of the family, the Carnegies of Finhaven, produced James Carnegie, 6th Earl of Southesk, who was a renowned agricultural improver and published several works on rural economy in the late 18th century.

Perhaps the most famous bearer of the name was Andrew Carnegie, the industrialist and philanthropist born in 1835 in Dunfermline, Fife. He emigrated to the United States and amassed a vast fortune in the steel industry, later becoming one of the greatest philanthropists in history, donating millions to establish libraries, universities, and charitable organizations.

Other notable individuals with the surname include Dale Carnegie, the American writer and lecturer on self-improvement, and Hank Carnap, the American musician and songwriter known for his work with the bands Toto and Ambrosia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Carnegie

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Carnegie, 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!