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

Menzies, 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 Menzies surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Menzies in America

Menzies is the 14468th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Menzies surname appeared 2,064 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 Menzies.

We can also compare 2010 data for Menzies 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 Menzies

The surname Menzies originates from the Scottish Lowlands, specifically in the area of Clydesdale, near Glasgow. It dates back to the 12th century and is derived from the old Gaelic word "meanach," meaning a person who lived in a fertile or cultivated region.

The name first appeared in written records in the early 13th century, with mentions of the Menzies family holding lands in Perthshire. The earliest recorded spelling was "Meynges" in 1249, referring to Robert de Meynges, a landowner in the parish of Weem.

The Menzies family played a significant role in Scottish history, with several notable members. Sir Robert Menzies (c. 1350 - c. 1420) was a prominent figure during the reign of Robert III and was appointed the Keeper of Lochmaben Castle. Another notable figure was Sir Thomas Menzies (c. 1530 - 1597), who served as the Provost of Aberdeen and played a crucial role in the Scottish Reformation.

In the 16th century, the Menzies clan was involved in several feuds with neighboring clans, particularly the Clan Campbell. This led to the famous Battle of Glenfruin in 1603, where the Menzies and their allies were defeated by the Campbells.

The name Menzies is also associated with several place names in Scotland, such as Menzies Castle in Perthshire, which was the ancestral seat of the Clan Menzies, and the village of Menzies in the same region.

Other notable individuals with the surname Menzies include Sir Robert Menzies (1894 - 1978), who served as the Prime Minister of Australia from 1939 to 1941 and again from 1949 to 1966. William Menzies (1795 - 1850) was a Scottish-born Australian politician and explorer, known for his expedition through the Blue Mountains in 1815.

The Menzies surname has also been found in various spellings over the centuries, including Mengies, Mengzes, and Myngis, reflecting the evolution of language and regional variations in pronunciation.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Menzies

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

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

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

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