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

Ivy, 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 Ivy surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ivy in America

Ivy is the 2667th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ivy surname appeared 13,524 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Ivy.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ivy 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 Ivy

The surname Ivy originated in England, deriving from the Old English word 'ifig', meaning the ivy plant. It was likely first used as a descriptive surname referring to someone who lived near a profusion of ivy or had some association with the plant.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Iffing'. This suggests the name had already been in use for some time before the Norman Conquest of 1066.

In the 12th century, the name appears as 'Ivie' in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire. By the 13th century, variations like 'Ivy' and 'Ivye' were common spellings found in historical records throughout England.

The name was particularly prevalent in the counties of Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, and Devonshire, where many place names incorporated the word 'ivy', such as Ivybridge in Devon and Ivythorn in Yorkshire.

One of the earliest notable bearers of the name was Sir John Ivy, a wealthy merchant and landowner from Bristol in the late 14th century. Another was Robert Ivy, a prominent lawyer who served as Attorney General of England from 1432 to 1437 during the reign of Henry VI.

In the 16th century, the name was associated with Thomas Ivy (c. 1510-1585), a renowned English architect who designed several notable buildings, including parts of Hampton Court Palace.

During the English Civil War, Colonel William Ivy (1610-1659) was a prominent Parliamentarian officer who fought alongside Oliver Cromwell's forces against King Charles I.

In the literary world, the name is represented by Andrew Ivy (1792-1856), a prolific English writer and poet who published numerous works in the early 19th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ivy

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

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

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

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