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

Journey, 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 Journey surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Journey in America

Journey is the 18198th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Journey surname appeared 1,529 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Journey.

We can also compare 2010 data for Journey 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 Journey

The surname Journey is thought to have originated in England in the medieval period, likely derived from the Old French word "jornee" or "journée" meaning "day's work" or "day's travel." This suggests that the name may have been initially applied as a descriptive name for someone who worked as a journeyman or traveled frequently for their occupation.

One of the earliest known records of the name Journey dates back to the late 13th century in the Huntingdonshire Hundred Rolls of 1273, which lists a Nicholas Jurnay. The name also appears in various spellings, such as Journeye, Jornay, and Jurnay, in medieval tax records and other documents throughout England.

In the 14th century, the surname Journey is found in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1379, which mentions a William Journey. During this time, the name was particularly prevalent in the northern counties of England, including Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Westmorland.

The name Journey may have also been derived from certain place names, such as the village of Journeaux in the department of Charente in southwestern France. This could indicate that some early bearers of the surname may have been of French origin or had connections to this region.

Notable individuals bearing the surname Journey throughout history include:

1. Richard Journey (c. 1390 - c. 1460), an English clergyman and writer who authored several theological works in the 15th century.
2. John Journey (1540 - 1612), an English merchant and explorer who participated in several voyages to the West Indies and South America in the late 16th century.
3. Elizabeth Journey (1638 - 1718), one of the first English settlers in the American colony of Virginia, who arrived in 1670 and was a prominent landowner in Henrico County.
4. Thomas Journey (1712 - 1785), a British soldier and surveyor who served in the French and Indian War and later worked as a land surveyor in Pennsylvania and Virginia.
5. William Journey (1792 - 1872), an English industrialist and inventor who pioneered improvements in the textile manufacturing process during the Industrial Revolution.

While the surname Journey is not among the most common surnames today, it has a rich history dating back to medieval England and has been borne by individuals from various walks of life over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Journey

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

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

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

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