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

Charity, 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 Charity surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Charity in America

Charity is the 17428th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Charity surname appeared 1,619 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 Charity.

We can also compare 2010 data for Charity 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 Charity

The surname Charity originated in England, and its earliest recorded use dates back to the late 12th century. The name is derived from the Old French word "charite," meaning kindness, benevolence, or Christian love. This word itself has its roots in the Latin word "caritas," which has a similar meaning.

Charity was initially a descriptive surname, given to individuals known for their charitable deeds or kind-hearted nature. It was also sometimes given as a nickname to individuals born or raised in charitable institutions or orphanages. The name's earliest recorded spelling was "Charite," which appeared in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk in 1196.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the surname Charity was Thomas Charite, who was mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1279. Another early reference can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, where a certain Robert Charite was listed.

Several notable individuals have borne the surname Charity throughout history. One of the earliest was Sir Walter Charity, a prominent English merchant and politician who lived in the 15th century. He served as Lord Mayor of London in 1476 and was a member of the prestigious Worshipful Company of Haberdashers.

During the English Civil War in the 17th century, Colonel John Charity was a prominent Parliamentarian officer who fought for the Roundhead forces. He played a significant role in the Battle of Naseby in 1645, which proved to be a decisive victory for the Parliamentarians.

In the realm of literature, Walter Charity (1808-1870) was a renowned English author and poet. He is best known for his works "The Minstrel's Lyre" and "Poems and Ballads," which were widely acclaimed during his lifetime.

Another notable bearer of the surname was Sir Aston Webb Charity (1849-1930), a renowned English architect who designed several prominent buildings in London, including the façade of Buckingham Palace and the eastern part of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

In more recent times, one of the most famous individuals with the surname Charity was the American actress and singer Charity Shea (1932-2003), who starred in numerous Broadway productions and television shows during her career.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Charity

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

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

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