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

Nevins, 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 Nevins surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nevins in America

Nevins is the 6688th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nevins surname appeared 5,052 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Nevins.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nevins 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 Nevins

The surname Nevins originated in medieval England, deriving from an Old English word "nevene" which means nephew or grandson. This name was likely initially used as a descriptive surname to distinguish individuals by their relationship to another person.

Nevins is a variant spelling of the more common English surname Nevinson or Nevinson. The earliest recorded instance of this name appears in the Hundredorum Rolls of Yorkshire from 1273, where it is listed as Nevenson.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are no direct mentions of Nevins or its variants. However, there are entries for places like Nevendon in Essex, which may have influenced the development of the surname.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Nevynson, who was recorded as a resident of Yorkshire in 1379. Another early record is of William Nevynson, who was mentioned in the Register of the Freemen of York City in 1448.

Notable individuals with the surname Nevins throughout history include Henry Nevins (1562-1615), an English clergyman and author of theological works. John Nevins (1639-1706) was a Welsh-born Anglican priest who served as Bishop of Norwich.

David Nevins (1808-1865) was an American Presbyterian minister and author from Baltimore, Maryland. Alfred Nevins (1858-1933) was a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament.

Allan Nevins (1890-1971) was an influential American historian and author, known for his extensive work on the American Civil War and biographies of American presidents. He received two Pulitzer Prizes for his writings.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nevins

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

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

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

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