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

Empson, 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 Empson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Empson in America

Empson is the 28650th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Empson surname appeared 832 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 Empson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Empson 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 Empson

The surname Empson is of English origin, derived from the Old English personal name "Emba" or "Embra", which itself is thought to have come from the Old English word "emba", meaning "strenuous worker" or "quarrelsome person". The name first appeared in medieval records in the late 11th century, shortly after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Empson surname can be found in the renowned Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings and property across England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name is listed as "Embeson" in this historical document, reflecting the variations in spelling that were common during that time.

In the 13th century, records show the Empson family holding lands in Hertfordshire and Norfolk, with some members of the family also residing in the city of London. During this period, the name was sometimes spelled as "Embson" or "Embeson".

A notable figure in English history bearing the Empson surname was Sir Richard Empson (c. 1450 - 1510), who served as a minister and tax collector under King Henry VII. He gained notoriety for his ruthless and oppressive methods of extracting money from the gentry, which ultimately led to his execution on charges of high treason in 1510.

Another prominent individual with the Empson surname was William Empson (1906 - 1984), an influential English literary critic and poet. He is best known for his groundbreaking work "Seven Types of Ambiguity", which explored the multiple meanings and interpretations that can be found in literary texts.

The Empson name has also been linked to several place names in England, such as Empson Wood in Hertfordshire and Empson's Green in Suffolk. These place names likely derived from the Empson family's association with these locations or their former landholdings in those areas.

Other noteworthy individuals bearing the Empson surname include John Empson (1611 - 1677), an English mathematician and academic who made significant contributions to the field of algebra, and William Empson (1791 - 1852), a notable English engineer and architect who designed several important bridges and buildings in the early 19th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Empson

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

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

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