2000
#14,236
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,934
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.72
Rare Last name
Jarnagin
A surname of French origin, derived from the place name Jarnac, meaning "estate with an iron mine."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,218 Americans carry the last name Jarnagin. That puts it at #14,740 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.65 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 154,533 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jarnagin 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.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 154,533
Census rank
#14,740
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,934 bearers of the surname Jarnagin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.65 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14740th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jarnagin, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Hispanic (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Jarnagin
The surname Jarnagin has its origins in England, with the earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "gearr" meaning "shear" or "cut" and "nægen" meaning "naked" or "bare." This suggests that the name may have been an occupational surname, possibly referring to a profession such as a shearer or a wool merchant.
One of the earliest known references to the surname can be found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, where a Thomas Jarnagin was recorded as having been baptized in 1587. Another early record is from the Subsidy Rolls of Berkshire in 1628, which mentions a John Jarnagin as a taxpayer in the village of Kintbury.
In the 17th century, the surname appears to have spread beyond its origins in East Anglia and the southeast of England. Records show individuals bearing the name Jarnagin residing in various parts of the country, including Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire.
Notable individuals with the surname Jarnagin include:
1. Spencer Jarnagin (1784-1853), an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. Senator from Tennessee from 1843 to 1847.
2. Hubert Jarnagin (1892-1980), an American businessman and politician who served as the Mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee, from 1949 to 1951.
3. William Jarnagin (1807-1891), a Tennessee politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1839 to 1843.
4. John Jarnagin (1783-1840), an American lawyer and judge who served as a judge on the Tennessee Supreme Court from 1835 to 1840.
5. Milton Jarnagin (1827-1895), an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1859 to 1861.
While the surname Jarnagin is relatively uncommon, it has a rich history that can be traced back to its English origins in the 16th century. The name's evolution and spread across various regions of England and later to the United States reflects the migration patterns and societal changes that have shaped the English-speaking world over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jarnagin
Among Census respondents with the surname Jarnagin, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Hispanic (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Jarnagin 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 Jarnagin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.3% · 1,669
- Two or more races5.1% · 99
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 88
- Black or African American2.7% · 52
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jarnagin
Jarnagin 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
#14,392
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,077
+143 bearers (+7.4%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Down 156 places
2020
#14,740
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,934
-143 bearers (-6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.65
Rank movement Down 348 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,236 | 1,934 | 0.72 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,392 | 2,077 | 0.70 | +143 bearers (+7.4%) | Down 156 places |
| 2020 | #14,740 | 1,934 | 0.65 | -143 bearers (-6.9%) | Down 348 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 Jarnagin 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 | #14,392 | #14,740 | -2.4% |
| Count | 2,077 | 1,934 | -6.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.70 | 0.65 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jarnagin bearers went from 2,077 to 1,934 (-6.9% change). The surname moved down 348 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,392 to #14,740.
FAQ
Jarnagin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jarnagin?
Name Census estimates that about 2,218 living Americans carry the surname Jarnagin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 154,533 residents.
How common is Jarnagin?
Jarnagin ranks #14,740 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.65 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,934 people with the surname Jarnagin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,218), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.65 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.65 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Jarnagin.
Has Jarnagin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jarnagin went from 2,077 recorded bearers to 1,934. That is a decrease of 143 (-6.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,392 to #14,740.
What does the Census say about the background of Jarnagin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jarnagin, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Jarnagin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.3% (1,669 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jarnagin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.3%), Two or More Races (5.1%), Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Jarnagin (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 Jarnagin mean?
A surname of French origin, derived from the place name Jarnac, meaning "estate with an iron mine." 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 Jarnagin (0.65 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 Americans have the surname Jarnagin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.