Crews last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Crews

An occupational surname referring to a ship's crew member or one who works on boats or ships.

Crews, 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 Crews surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Crews in America

Crews is the 1475th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Crews surname appeared 24,219 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 8 people would have the surname Crews.

We can also compare 2010 data for Crews 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 1475 1404 4.93%
Count 24,219 23,167 4.44%
Proportion per 100k 8.21 8.59 -4.52%

The history of the last name Crews

The surname Crews originated in England and dates back to the 13th century. It is an occupational name derived from the Middle English word "crue", which referred to a crew or group of people, particularly sailors or soldiers. The name likely arose from someone who was part of such a crew or group.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Crews can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Worcestershire from 1273, where it appears as "Crewe". Over time, various spellings emerged, including Crew, Crewes, and the modern form, Crews.

The surname Crews has been documented in various historical records throughout the centuries. In the 14th century, a John Crewe was listed in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1344. Additionally, a William Crewe was mentioned in the Poll Tax Records of Yorkshire in 1379.

During the 16th century, the surname Crews appeared in several notable records. Sir Ranulf Crew (1558-1636) was an English politician and judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 1625 to 1626. Another prominent figure was Thomas Crew (1567-1633), an English clergyman who served as Bishop of Oxford from 1622 until his death.

In the 17th century, the Crews surname gained further prominence. Nathaniel Crew (1633-1721) was an English clergyman and academic who served as Bishop of Durham from 1701 until his death. He was also a noted benefactor of Lincoln College, Oxford.

The 18th century saw the rise of another notable figure, John Crew (1679-1751), an English landowner and politician who served as Member of Parliament for Brackley and Northamptonshire. Additionally, Samuel Crew (1742-1828) was an English Methodist minister and author who published several religious works.

Throughout history, the Crews surname has been linked to various place names in England, such as Crewe in Cheshire, which likely derived from the Old English word "crāwa" meaning "crow". The surname may also have connections to other locations like Crew Green in Cheshire and Crew Hill in Lincolnshire.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Crews

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

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 Crews was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 75.32% 18,242
Non-Hispanic Black Only 19.29% 4,672
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.50% 121
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.48% 116
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.09% 506
Hispanic Origin 2.31% 559

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 Crews has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 75.32% 77.74% -3.16%
Black 19.29% 18.43% 4.56%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.50% 0.47% 6.19%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.48% 0.49% -2.06%
Two or More Races 2.09% 1.50% 32.87%
Hispanic 2.31% 1.37% 51.09%

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

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Crews last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 3, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/crews-surname-popularity/.

"Crews last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/crews-surname-popularity/. Accessed 3 December, 2024

Crews last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/crews-surname-popularity/.

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