My last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of My

A Chinese surname with several possible meanings, including "beautiful" or "horse."

My, 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 My surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of My in America

My is the 65244th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The My surname appeared 304 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname My.

We can also compare 2010 data for My 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 65244 68782 -5.28%
Count 304 267 12.96%
Proportion per 100k 0.10 0.10 0.00%

The history of the last name My

The surname "My" is believed to have originated in Scandinavia during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old Norse word "myrr," which means "marsh" or "bog." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a marshy area or whose land was located near a bog.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name "My" can be found in the Landnámabók, an Icelandic book detailing the settlement of Iceland in the 9th and 10th centuries. This text mentions a person named Myr-Bjorn, which translates to "Marsh-Bjorn" or "Bjorn from the Marsh."

In the 11th century, the name "My" appeared in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of the great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This suggests that individuals with the surname "My" had migrated to England from Scandinavia during this period.

One notable bearer of the surname "My" was John My, a 14th-century English clergyman and scholar who was born in Lincolnshire around 1320. He served as the Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1379 to 1381.

Another historical figure with the surname "My" was Sir Thomas My, a 15th-century English knight and landowner. He was born in Somerset in 1420 and served as a member of the Parliament of England during the reign of Henry VI.

In the 16th century, the name "My" was sometimes spelled as "Mye" or "Mye." One example is William Mye, an English clergyman and author who was born in Gloucestershire in 1535. He wrote several religious works, including a commentary on the Book of Psalms.

During the 17th century, the surname "My" was also present in Scotland. One notable individual was Alexander My, a Scottish merchant and burgess of Aberdeen, who was born in 1620. He played a significant role in the city's trade and commerce during his lifetime.

Another historical figure with the surname "My" was Sir John My, a 17th-century English politician and landowner. He was born in Oxfordshire in 1640 and served as a member of the Parliament of England during the reign of King Charles II.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name My

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

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 My was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 9.54% 29
Non-Hispanic Black Only 2.96% 9
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 82.89% 252
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.30% 7
Hispanic Origin 2.30% 7

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 My has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 9.54% 10.49% -9.49%
Black 2.96% 1.87% 45.13%
Asian and Pacific Islander 82.89% 78.65% 5.25%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 2.30% 7.49% -106.03%
Hispanic 2.30% (S)% (S)%

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

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"My last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/my-surname-popularity/.

"My last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/my-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

My last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/my-surname-popularity/.

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