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

Cravens, 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 Cravens surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cravens in America

Cravens is the 5681st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cravens surname appeared 6,104 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Cravens.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cravens 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 Cravens

The surname Cravens originated from the Anglo-Saxon regions of Britain during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word "craf" which means a craftsman or wright. The name was likely adopted as a hereditary surname to identify the bearer as the son of a craftsman.

Early recordings of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is spelled as "Craven". Variants of the spelling included Crauene, Crauen, and Cravent. The name was most prevalent in the northern regions of England, particularly Yorkshire and Lancashire.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Cravens was Robert Craven, who was born around 1220 in Yorkshire. He was a landowner and is mentioned in several historical records from the 13th century.

In the 14th century, John Craven (c. 1310 - 1380) was a notable figure from Lancashire. He served as a knight and fought in the Hundred Years' War under King Edward III.

During the 15th century, the Cravens family established themselves as influential landowners in Yorkshire. Sir William Craven (1428 - 1492) was a member of the gentry and held estates in the village of Craven, which likely contributed to the spelling variation of the surname.

In the 16th century, William Craven (1548 - 1618) was a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of York. He was involved in the wool trade and served as the Lord Mayor of York in 1599.

Another notable figure with the surname Cravens was Thomas Craven (1625 - 1702), who was a Puritan minister and author from Hertfordshire. He wrote several religious works and was known for his sermons.

The Cravens surname has been found in various regions of England throughout history, with a concentration in the northern counties. The name has also been recorded in other parts of the British Isles, as well as in North America and other countries with British colonial influence.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cravens

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

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

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

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