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

Ives, 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 Ives surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ives in America

Ives is the 4317th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ives surname appeared 8,233 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Ives.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ives 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 Ives

The surname Ives is of English origin, derived from the personal name Ive, which was a medieval diminutive form of the name Ivan. This name ultimately traces its roots back to the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "Yahweh is gracious."

The earliest known bearer of the surname was Ive de Aldrid, who was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Nottinghamshire in 1176. This suggests that the name was well-established in England by the late 12th century.

The Ives surname is believed to have originated in the county of Essex, where it was particularly prevalent in the medieval period. The name is also found in early records from Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a landowner named Ivo is mentioned as holding lands in Lincolnshire.

During the 13th century, the name was often spelled as Ive, Yve, or Yves, reflecting its French influences. Over time, the spelling evolved into the more modern form of Ives.

Notable individuals with the surname Ives throughout history include:

1. John Ives (c. 1568-1644), an English Puritan minister and author.
2. Jeremiah Ives (1768-1846), an American Episcopal bishop and founder of the Ives Prize at Yale University.
3. Charles Edward Ives (1874-1954), an American modernist composer and one of the first internationally recognized American composers.
4. Burl Ives (1909-1995), an American actor, writer, and folk singer, known for his roles in popular films like "The Big Country" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."
5. Charles Ives (1919-2008), an American artist and sculptor known for his abstract and minimalist works.

The Ives surname has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Ives Green in Essex, Ives Farm in Hampshire, and Ives Marsh in Gloucestershire, further underscoring its longstanding presence in the country.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ives

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

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

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

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