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

Nunnally, 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 Nunnally surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nunnally in America

Nunnally is the 8168th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nunnally surname appeared 4,058 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 Nunnally.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nunnally 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 Nunnally

The surname Nunnally is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "nunne" meaning nun and "leah" meaning a meadow or woodland clearing. It likely originated as a place name referring to a meadow or clearing belonging to or associated with a convent or nunnery.

The earliest recorded spelling of the name appears to be Nunnanleah in the Domesday Book of 1086, referring to a settlement in Warwickshire. Similar early spellings include Nunnelee in 1279 and Nunley in 1327, reflecting the gradual evolution of the name over time.

During the medieval period, the name was most prevalent in the English counties of Warwickshire, Staffordshire, and Worcestershire, where various branches of the Nunnally family held lands and estates. Notably, a Richard de Nunnelee is mentioned in records from Staffordshire in 1327.

As the name spread, variations in spelling emerged, including Nunneley, Nuneley, and Nunnely. In the 16th century, the Nunnally spelling became more common, particularly in the Lancashire region of northwestern England.

One notable figure bearing the Nunnally name was Thomas Nunnally, a wealthy merchant and landowner in Staffordshire who lived from 1585 to 1653. His descendants continued to hold influence in the region for several generations.

Another prominent individual was Sir John Nunneley, a respected judge and lawyer who served as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas from 1625 to 1633. He was born in Worcestershire in 1569 and played a significant role in the legal affairs of his time.

In the 18th century, the Nunnally name gained recognition through the accomplishments of Samuel Nunnally, a renowned clockmaker and inventor from Lancashire. Born in 1722, his innovative timepieces and mechanical creations garnered widespread acclaim.

The 19th century saw the migration of many Nunnally families to the United States and other parts of the English-speaking world, further spreading the name and its variants across different regions and communities.

One notable American bearer of the surname was John Nunnally, a Civil War veteran and politician from Tennessee, who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1873 to 1877.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nunnally

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

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!