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

Conover, 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 Conover surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Conover in America

Conover is the 4063rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Conover surname appeared 8,738 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 Conover.

We can also compare 2010 data for Conover 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 Conover

The surname Conover is of Dutch origin, originating from the Netherlands in the 17th century. It is believed to be derived from the Dutch words "konyn" meaning rabbit, and "hof" meaning court or garden, possibly referring to a place where rabbits were kept or raised.

The earliest recorded mention of the surname Conover can be found in the Dutch Reformed Church records of New Netherland (present-day New York) in the mid-17th century. This suggests that the name was brought to the Americas by Dutch settlers during the colonial era.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Wolphert Gerritsen van Couwenhoven, a Dutch immigrant who arrived in New Netherland in 1636. His surname was later anglicized to Conover.

In the 19th century, the surname Conover began to appear in various parts of the United States, particularly in areas with a strong Dutch heritage, such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Some notable individuals with the surname include:

1. George S. Conover (1819-1905), an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Florida.
2. Simon Barclay Conover (1840-1908), an American businessman and banker from New York.
3. Frank Conover (1865-1951), an American baseball player who played for the Philadelphia Phillies in the late 19th century.
4. Harriette Conover (1787-1875), an American writer and poet from New Jersey.
5. Tasha Conover Stuart (1885-1958), an American artist and illustrator known for her illustrations in children's books.

While the name has Dutch origins, it has since been adopted by families of various backgrounds and nationalities, particularly in North America.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Conover

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

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

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