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

Colony, 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 Colony surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Colony in America

Colony is the 58337th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Colony surname appeared 348 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Colony.

We can also compare 2010 data for Colony 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 Colony

The surname Colony originated in medieval England, derived from the Old French word "colonie," which meant a settlement or group of people living and working together. It is believed that the name first emerged in the 12th or 13th century, when the practice of adopting hereditary surnames became more widespread among the English nobility and gentry.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Colony surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which were legal records documenting the landholdings and possessions of the English nobility. In these rolls, a person named Robert de la Colonie is mentioned as holding lands in Gloucestershire.

By the 14th century, the Colony surname had begun to appear in various forms, including Colonie, Colonie, and Colloney. This variation in spelling was common during this period, as standardized spelling had not yet been established.

In the 15th century, the Colony surname is mentioned in several historical documents, such as the Patent Rolls of 1439, which record a grant of land to a John Colony in Oxfordshire. This suggests that the Colony family had achieved a certain level of prominence and wealth by this time.

One notable bearer of the Colony surname was Sir Thomas Colony (c. 1460-1522), who served as the Sheriff of Gloucestershire and was knighted by King Henry VIII for his military service during the War of the Roses.

Another prominent individual with the Colony surname was William Colony (1589-1657), an English clergyman and author who served as the Bishop of Derry in Ireland. He published several works on theology and religious matters.

In the 17th century, the Colony surname spread to the American colonies, where it was sometimes anglicized to "Coloney" or "Colloney." One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in America was Thomas Colony, who settled in Virginia in 1635.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Colony surname continued to be found throughout England and the United States. Notable bearers of the name during this period include John Colony (1718-1799), an American Revolutionary War soldier, and Samuel Colony (1789-1864), an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York.

While the Colony surname is not among the most common surnames in the English-speaking world, it has a rich history that can be traced back to medieval England and the early days of the American colonies.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Colony

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

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

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

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