2000
#2,602
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,760
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.73
Uncommon Last name
Ivy
A botanical surname referring to someone who lived near or worked with ivy plants.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,157 Americans carry the last name Ivy. That puts it at #2,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.42 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 22,614 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ivy surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Ivy with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
15K
1 in 22,614
Census rank
#2,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,218 bearers of the surname Ivy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.42 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ivy, the largest self-reported group is White at 52.5%. The next largest groups are Black (37.7%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ivy
Among Census respondents with the surname Ivy, the largest self-reported group is White at 52.5%. The next largest groups are Black (37.7%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Ivy bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Ivy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.5% · 6,945
- Black or African American37.7% · 4,981
- Two or more races5.2% · 689
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 441
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 85
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 77
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ivy
Ivy appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,667
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,524
+764 bearers (+6.0%)
Per 100,000 4.58
Rank movement Down 65 places
2020
#2,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,218
-306 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 4.42
Rank movement Up 2 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,602 | 12,760 | 4.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,667 | 13,524 | 4.58 | +764 bearers (+6.0%) | Down 65 places |
| 2020 | #2,665 | 13,218 | 4.42 | -306 bearers (-2.3%) | Up 2 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Ivy surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,667 | #2,665 | 0.1% |
| Count | 13,524 | 13,218 | -2.3% |
| Per 100K | 4.58 | 4.42 | -3.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ivy bearers went from 13,524 to 13,218 (-2.3% change). The surname moved up 2 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,667 to #2,665.
FAQ
Ivy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ivy?
Name Census estimates that about 15,157 living Americans carry the surname Ivy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 22,614 residents.
How common is Ivy?
Ivy ranks #2,665 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.42 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,218 people with the surname Ivy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,157), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.42 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.42 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Ivy.
Has Ivy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ivy went from 13,524 recorded bearers to 13,218. That is a decrease of 306 (-2.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,667 to #2,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Ivy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ivy, the largest self-reported group is White at 52.5%. The next largest groups are Black (37.7%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Ivy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.5% (6,945 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ivy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (52.5%), Black (37.7%), Two or More Races (5.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Ivy (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Ivy mean?
A botanical surname referring to someone who lived near or worked with ivy plants. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Ivy (4.42 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Ivy?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.