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

Nei, 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 Nei surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nei in America

Nei is the 65782nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nei surname appeared 301 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 Nei.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nei 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 Nei

The surname "Nei" is believed to have originated in Norway during the 11th century. It is derived from the Old Norse word "nei," which means "no" or "nay." The name may have initially referred to someone who was known for being stubborn or contrary.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name "Nei" can be found in the Landnámabók, a medieval Icelandic manuscript that documents the settlement of Iceland. The manuscript mentions a man named Nei Haraldarson, who is said to have lived in the late 9th century.

In the 13th century, the name "Nei" appeared in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of Norwegian medieval documents. One record from 1267 mentions a man named Torstein Nei, who lived in the Telemark region of Norway.

During the Middle Ages, the name "Nei" was also found in various Norwegian place names, such as Neistad and Neisfjord. These place names likely originated from individuals with the surname "Nei" who lived in or owned land in those areas.

One notable bearer of the surname "Nei" was Nils Nei (1625-1698), a Norwegian farmer and politician who served as a member of the Storting, the Norwegian parliament, in the late 17th century.

Another individual with the surname "Nei" was Ingrid Nei (1768-1842), a Norwegian author and poet who published several works in the early 19th century.

In the 19th century, the name "Nei" was also found in Iceland. One example is Jón Nei (1824-1896), an Icelandic farmer and fisherman who lived in the Westfjords region.

In the early 20th century, the surname "Nei" was carried by Sigurd Nei (1901-1975), a Norwegian artist known for his landscape paintings of rural Norway.

Lastly, Arne Nei (1918-2003) was a Norwegian military officer who served in the Norwegian resistance movement during World War II and later became a prominent figure in the Norwegian Labour Party.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nei

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

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

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

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