2000
#6,360
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,927
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.83
Rare Last name
Nevins
Derived from the Irish surname "Ó Cnáimhín," meaning "descendant of Cnáimhín," a nickname meaning "little bone."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,349 Americans carry the last name Nevins. That puts it at #6,940 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.56 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 64,078 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nevins surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Nevins with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.3K
1 in 64,078
Census rank
#6,940
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,665 bearers of the surname Nevins in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.56 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6940th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nevins, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.8%. The next largest groups are Black (8.6%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nevins
Among Census respondents with the surname Nevins, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.8%. The next largest groups are Black (8.6%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Nevins bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Nevins surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.8% · 3,911
- Black or African American8.6% · 400
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 151
- Two or more races3.2% · 149
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nevins
Nevins appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#6,688
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,052
+125 bearers (+2.5%)
Per 100,000 1.71
Rank movement Down 328 places
2020
#6,940
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,665
-387 bearers (-7.7%)
Per 100,000 1.56
Rank movement Down 252 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,360 | 4,927 | 1.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,688 | 5,052 | 1.71 | +125 bearers (+2.5%) | Down 328 places |
| 2020 | #6,940 | 4,665 | 1.56 | -387 bearers (-7.7%) | Down 252 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Nevins surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #6,688 | #6,940 | -3.8% |
| Count | 5,052 | 4,665 | -7.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.71 | 1.56 | -8.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nevins bearers went from 5,052 to 4,665 (-7.7% change). The surname moved down 252 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,688 to #6,940.
FAQ
Nevins surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nevins?
Name Census estimates that about 5,349 living Americans carry the surname Nevins. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 64,078 residents.
How common is Nevins?
Nevins ranks #6,940 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.56 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,665 people with the surname Nevins. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,349), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.56 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.56 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Nevins.
Has Nevins become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nevins went from 5,052 recorded bearers to 4,665. That is a decrease of 387 (-7.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,688 to #6,940.
What does the Census say about the background of Nevins?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nevins, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.8%. The next largest groups are Black (8.6%) and Hispanic (3.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Nevins in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.8% (3,911 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nevins appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.8%), Black (8.6%), Hispanic (3.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Nevins (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Nevins mean?
Derived from the Irish surname "Ó Cnáimhín," meaning "descendant of Cnáimhín," a nickname meaning "little bone." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Nevins (1.56 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Nevins?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Nevins, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.