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

Easterly, 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 Easterly surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Easterly in America

Easterly is the 12593rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Easterly surname appeared 2,458 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 Easterly.

We can also compare 2010 data for Easterly 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 Easterly

The surname Easterly is an English locational name that originated in the Middle Ages. It derives from the word "easterly," meaning "eastern" or "towards the east." This name likely originated in a village or region located in the eastern part of England, where early bearers of the surname resided.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Easterly can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which documented landowners and their tenants in various counties of England. The Hundred Rolls mention a John de Esterly, who was a tenant in the county of Oxfordshire during that period.

In the 14th century, the surname appeared in several historical records, including the Subsidy Rolls of 1327 and the Poll Tax Returns of 1379. These records document individuals such as William Esterly from Hertfordshire and John Esterly from Warwickshire, indicating the name's presence across different regions of England.

During the late medieval period, the surname Easterly was also associated with various place names, such as Easterly Hill in Nottinghamshire and Easterly Manor in Wiltshire. These place names likely influenced the surname's development and may have been the original locations where the name originated.

Notable individuals who bore the surname Easterly include:

1. Richard Easterly (c. 1550 - 1620), an English merchant and landowner from Sussex.
2. Elizabeth Easterly (1610 - 1685), a Puritan settler in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
3. John Easterly (1675 - 1742), a prominent farmer and local politician in Virginia.
4. William Easterly (1720 - 1789), a British naval officer who served during the American Revolutionary War.
5. Anne Easterly (1787 - 1856), an English author and poet known for her romantic novels.

The surname Easterly has a rich history, rooted in the English countryside and reflecting the geographic origins of its earliest bearers. While its modern usage may have evolved, the name retains its connection to the eastern regions of England, where it first emerged as a locational surname during the Middle Ages.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Easterly

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

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

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

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