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

Essex, 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 Essex surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Essex in America

Essex is the 8529th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Essex surname appeared 3,858 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 Essex.

We can also compare 2010 data for Essex 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 Essex

The surname Essex originated in the county of Essex, England. It is a locational name deriving from the Old English words 'East' and 'Seaxe', meaning 'East Saxons'. This refers to the ancient Saxon tribe who settled in the region during the 5th century AD after the Romans left Britain.

The name Essex first appeared in records during the 11th century. It is found in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey commissioned by William the Conqueror. In this text, various landholders bearing the surname Essex are mentioned, indicating they held estates in the county.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the surname is Robert de Essex, who lived during the 12th century. He was a prominent nobleman and landowner in Essex. Another early bearer was William de Essex, born around 1190, who served as Sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire under King John.

Throughout the Middle Ages, variations of the spelling included Essexe, Esseks, and Essix. These reflect the different pronunciations and dialectal forms used in various parts of the county. The modern spelling of Essex became standardized by the 16th century.

A notable Essex was Walter Essex, born in 1520, who was a member of Parliament and played a role in the English Reformation under Henry VIII. In the 17th century, Sir William Essex (1612-1684) was a wealthy merchant and philanthropist who donated funds for the rebuilding of churches and schools in Essex after the Great Fire of London.

During the 18th century, Thomas Essex (1701-1771) was a renowned English architect who designed several country houses and churches in the Essex region. Another bearer was Reverend Robert Essex (1782-1860), an influential Church of England clergyman and author of theological works.

The 19th century saw the birth of Robert Essex (1835-1919), a British explorer and naturalist who led expeditions to East Africa and published accounts of his travels. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have borne the surname Essex, reflecting its long-standing connection to the county of the same name in England.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Essex

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

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

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