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

Imperial, 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 Imperial surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Imperial in America

Imperial is the 17775th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Imperial surname appeared 1,576 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 Imperial.

We can also compare 2010 data for Imperial 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 Imperial

The surname IMPERIAL is of English origin and dates back to the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the Old French word "imperial", which means "imperial" or "relating to an empire or emperor".

The name likely originated as a descriptive surname, referring to someone who held an imperial or regal office or position, or who had some connection to the imperial court or an emperor. It may also have been given as a nickname to someone who exhibited a regal or imperious manner.

Some of the earliest recorded instances of the IMPERIAL surname can be found in medieval English records and documents. For example, there is a mention of a John Imperial in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire from the year 1242.

The surname IMPERIAL is also found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which were a census-like record of landowners in England at that time. This suggests that the name was already well-established by the late 13th century.

One notable bearer of the IMPERIAL surname was Sir Robert Imperial, a prominent English landowner and knight who lived during the 14th century. He is mentioned in historical records from the reign of King Edward III (1312-1377).

Another early bearer of the IMPERIAL name was William Imperial, who was recorded as a resident of the town of Taunton in Somerset, England, in the year 1327.

In the 15th century, there was a John Imperial who served as a member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers, one of the oldest livery companies in the City of London. He is mentioned in the company's records from the year 1457.

During the 16th century, a branch of the IMPERIAL family settled in the village of Kempton, in Shropshire, England. One notable member of this branch was Thomas Imperial, who was born in Kempton in 1542 and later became a successful merchant in London.

In the 17th century, the IMPERIAL surname was also found in Scotland, where a family of that name held lands in the county of Fife. One notable member of this Scottish branch was Sir James Imperial, who was born in 1616 and served as a member of the Scottish Parliament.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Imperial

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

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

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