England last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of England

A locational surname indicating ancestral origins in the country of England.

England, 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 England surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of England in America

England is the 1174th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The England surname appeared 29,926 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 10 people would have the surname England.

We can also compare 2010 data for England 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 1174 1113 5.33%
Count 29,926 28,861 3.62%
Proportion per 100k 10.15 10.70 -5.28%

The history of the last name England

The surname England is of English origin, derived from the name of the country itself. It likely emerged during the Middle Ages as a locational surname, initially assigned to individuals who hailed from or resided in England.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a landowner named Richard de Englelande. This spelling variation suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive phrase "of England" before evolving into a hereditary surname.

Throughout the medieval period, the name appeared in various records and manuscripts, often with spelling variations such as Englelande, Engelande, and Englande. These variations reflect the fluid nature of surname spellings during that era, as standardization was not yet established.

The surname's origins can be traced back to the Old English word "Englaland," which referred to the land inhabited by the Angles, a Germanic tribe that settled in central, northern, and eastern parts of what is now England during the 5th and 6th centuries.

Notable historical figures bearing the surname England include:

  1. Sir George England (1592-1644), an English soldier and politician who served as a Member of Parliament during the English Civil War.
  2. John England (c. 1486-1558), an English clergyman who served as Bishop of Lincoln from 1551 until his death.
  3. Thomas England (c. 1635-1691), an English settler in Maryland and one of the founders of the town of Annapolis.
  4. John England (1786-1842), an Irish-born prelate who became the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Charleston, South Carolina.
  5. Eustace England (c. 1330-1399), an English knight and military commander who fought in the Hundred Years' War.

Additionally, the name has been associated with various place names in England, such as England's Wood in Hertfordshire and England's Hill in Buckinghamshire, further underscoring its locational origins.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name England

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

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 England was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 88.91% 26,607
Non-Hispanic Black Only 5.28% 1,580
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.48% 144
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 1.00% 299
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.95% 584
Hispanic Origin 2.38% 712

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 88.91% 90.48% -1.75%
Black 5.28% 4.89% 7.67%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.48% 0.35% 31.33%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 1.00% 1.14% -13.08%
Two or More Races 1.95% 1.57% 21.59%
Hispanic 2.38% 1.58% 40.40%

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

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

"England last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 4, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/england-surname-popularity/.

"England last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/england-surname-popularity/. Accessed 4 December, 2024

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

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