2000
#11,428
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,530
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.94
Rare Last name
Jerry
An occupational surname referring to a jerry-builder or a person who constructs buildings hastily and poorly.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,016 Americans carry the last name Jerry. That puts it at #11,459 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 113,645 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jerry 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 Jerry with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.0K
1 in 113,645
Census rank
#11,459
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,630 bearers of the surname Jerry in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11459th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jerry, the largest self-reported group is White at 42.9%. The next largest groups are Black (39.8%) and Hispanic (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Jerry
The surname JERRY originated in medieval England during the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old French name "Gervais" or "Gervaise", which in turn came from the Germanic name "Gerwih" meaning "spear ruler". The earliest recorded spelling of the name appears as "Gerveis" in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1176.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Robert Gervays, who was mentioned in the Curia Regis Rolls of Suffolk in 1198. Another early example is Willelmus Gerveis, recorded in the Feet of Fines for Oxfordshire in 1242. These early spellings demonstrate the transition from the Old French "Gervais" to the more anglicized form of "Gerveis" or "Gerveys".
The surname can also be traced back to various place names in England, such as Jarrow in County Durham, which was originally known as "Gyruum" or "Gervaux" in the 8th century. The name Gervase de Gervaux, born in 1141, provides an example of a person named after this location.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, various spellings of the name emerged, including "Gerveys", "Jerveys", and "Jerveis". One noteworthy bearer was Sir John Jerveis, a prominent landowner in Gloucestershire who was born in 1348 and served as a Member of Parliament.
In the 16th century, the spelling "Jerry" became more common, as evidenced by records such as William Jerry, who was baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Another notable figure from this period was Thomas Jerry, a prominent merchant and alderman in London, who lived from 1537 to 1611.
Over the centuries, the name JERRY has been borne by several notable individuals, including Samuel Jerry, an English mathematician and theologian born in 1607, and Michael Jerry, an Irish soldier and military engineer who fought in the Williamite War in Ireland in the late 17th century. In more recent times, Jerry Goldsmith (1929-2004) was a renowned American composer and conductor who won an Academy Award for his score for the film "The Omen".
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jerry
Among Census respondents with the surname Jerry, the largest self-reported group is White at 42.9%. The next largest groups are Black (39.8%) and Hispanic (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Jerry 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 Jerry surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White42.9% · 1,128
- Black or African American39.8% · 1,047
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 138
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.2% · 137
- Two or more races3.8% · 101
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.0% · 79
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jerry
Jerry 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
#11,697
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,679
+149 bearers (+5.9%)
Per 100,000 0.91
Rank movement Down 269 places
2020
#11,459
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,630
-49 bearers (-1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Up 238 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,428 | 2,530 | 0.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,697 | 2,679 | 0.91 | +149 bearers (+5.9%) | Down 269 places |
| 2020 | #11,459 | 2,630 | 0.88 | -49 bearers (-1.8%) | Up 238 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 Jerry 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 | #11,697 | #11,459 | 2.0% |
| Count | 2,679 | 2,630 | -1.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.91 | 0.88 | -3.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jerry bearers went from 2,679 to 2,630 (-1.8% change). The surname moved up 238 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,697 to #11,459.
FAQ
Jerry surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jerry?
Name Census estimates that about 3,016 living Americans carry the surname Jerry. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 113,645 residents.
How common is Jerry?
Jerry ranks #11,459 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.88 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 2,630 people with the surname Jerry. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,016), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.88 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 Jerry.
Has Jerry become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jerry went from 2,679 recorded bearers to 2,630. That is a decrease of 49 (-1.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,697 to #11,459.
What does the Census say about the background of Jerry?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jerry, the largest self-reported group is White at 42.9%. The next largest groups are Black (39.8%) and Hispanic (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 Jerry in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.9% (1,128 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jerry appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (42.9%), Black (39.8%), Hispanic (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 Jerry (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 Jerry mean?
An occupational surname referring to a jerry-builder or a person who constructs buildings hastily and poorly. 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 Jerry (0.88 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 Jerry?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.