2000
#7,680
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,997
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.48
Rare Last name
Nunnally
Derived from the Irish surname Ó Nualláin, meaning "descendant of Nuallán," a personal name of uncertain meaning.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,419 Americans carry the last name Nunnally. That puts it at #8,234 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.29 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 77,564 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nunnally 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.
Bearers in the US
4.4K
1 in 77,564
Census rank
#8,234
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,854 bearers of the surname Nunnally in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.29 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8234th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nunnally, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.5%. The next largest groups are Black (31.0%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nunnally
Among Census respondents with the surname Nunnally, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.5%. The next largest groups are Black (31.0%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Nunnally 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 Nunnally surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.5% · 2,370
- Black or African American31.0% · 1,196
- Two or more races4.3% · 166
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 95
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nunnally
Nunnally 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
#8,168
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,058
+61 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 1.38
Rank movement Down 488 places
2020
#8,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,854
-204 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 1.29
Rank movement Down 66 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,680 | 3,997 | 1.48 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,168 | 4,058 | 1.38 | +61 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 488 places |
| 2020 | #8,234 | 3,854 | 1.29 | -204 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 66 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 Nunnally 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 | #8,168 | #8,234 | -0.8% |
| Count | 4,058 | 3,854 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.38 | 1.29 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nunnally bearers went from 4,058 to 3,854 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 66 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,168 to #8,234.
FAQ
Nunnally surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nunnally?
Name Census estimates that about 4,419 living Americans carry the surname Nunnally. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 77,564 residents.
How common is Nunnally?
Nunnally ranks #8,234 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.29 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,854 people with the surname Nunnally. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,419), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.29 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.29 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Nunnally.
Has Nunnally become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nunnally went from 4,058 recorded bearers to 3,854. That is a decrease of 204 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,168 to #8,234.
What does the Census say about the background of Nunnally?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nunnally, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.5%. The next largest groups are Black (31.0%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Nunnally in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.5% (2,370 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nunnally appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (61.5%), Black (31.0%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Nunnally (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 Nunnally mean?
Derived from the Irish surname Ó Nualláin, meaning "descendant of Nuallán," a personal name of uncertain meaning. 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 Nunnally (1.29 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 Nunnally?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Nunnally, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.