2000
#11,358
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,547
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.94
Rare Last name
Nunnery
A toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near a convent or nunnery.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,949 Americans carry the last name Nunnery. That puts it at #11,668 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.86 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 116,227 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nunnery 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
2.9K
1 in 116,227
Census rank
#11,668
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,572 bearers of the surname Nunnery in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.86 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11668th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nunnery, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.4%. The next largest groups are Black (28.2%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nunnery
The surname Nunnery is of English origin and can be traced back to the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "nunne," meaning "nun," and the word "ry," meaning a place or dwelling. This suggests that the name originally referred to a person who lived near or had some association with a nunnery or convent.
In the Domesday Book, a significant historical record compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror, there are several mentions of places with names related to nunneries, such as "Nunnaminstre" in Worcestershire and "Nunna" in Huntingdonshire. These entries indicate the presence of nunneries in these areas, which may have influenced the development of the surname.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Nunnery dates back to 1273, when a Robert de Nunnerye was mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire. This record provides evidence of the surname's existence during the 13th century.
In the 14th century, the surname appeared in various forms, such as "Nunnery" and "Nunry." For example, a John atte Nunry was mentioned in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1351, and a William Nunnery was recorded in the Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire in 1379.
Notable individuals with the surname Nunnery throughout history include:
1. John Nunnery (c. 1550-1623), an English poet and playwright who was a contemporary of William Shakespeare.
2. Mary Nunnery (1605-1678), an English Quaker known for her religious writings and involvement in the Quaker movement.
3. Thomas Nunnery (1674-1745), a British architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Church of St. Mary Woolnoth.
4. Elizabeth Nunnery (1735-1812), an American patriot and revolutionary who helped supply the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
5. William Nunnery (1790-1865), an English landscape painter known for his depictions of rural scenes and pastoral landscapes.
The surname Nunnery has also been associated with various place names, such as Nunnery Hill in Worcestershire and Nunnery Farm in Gloucestershire, further reinforcing the connection between the name and the historical presence of nunneries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nunnery
Among Census respondents with the surname Nunnery, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.4%. The next largest groups are Black (28.2%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Nunnery 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 Nunnery surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.4% · 1,630
- Black or African American28.2% · 725
- Two or more races4.1% · 105
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 96
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nunnery
Nunnery 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
#11,368
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,775
+228 bearers (+9.0%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 10 places
2020
#11,668
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,572
-203 bearers (-7.3%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Down 300 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,358 | 2,547 | 0.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,368 | 2,775 | 0.94 | +228 bearers (+9.0%) | Down 10 places |
| 2020 | #11,668 | 2,572 | 0.86 | -203 bearers (-7.3%) | Down 300 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 Nunnery 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 | #11,368 | #11,668 | -2.6% |
| Count | 2,775 | 2,572 | -7.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.94 | 0.86 | -8.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nunnery bearers went from 2,775 to 2,572 (-7.3% change). The surname moved down 300 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,368 to #11,668.
FAQ
Nunnery surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nunnery?
Name Census estimates that about 2,949 living Americans carry the surname Nunnery. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 116,227 residents.
How common is Nunnery?
Nunnery ranks #11,668 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.86 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 2,572 people with the surname Nunnery. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,949), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.86 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.86 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 Nunnery.
Has Nunnery become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nunnery went from 2,775 recorded bearers to 2,572. That is a decrease of 203 (-7.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,368 to #11,668.
What does the Census say about the background of Nunnery?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nunnery, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.4%. The next largest groups are Black (28.2%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Nunnery in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.4% (1,630 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nunnery appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (63.4%), Black (28.2%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Nunnery (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 Nunnery mean?
A toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near a convent or nunnery. 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 Nunnery (0.86 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 many people are called Nunnery?
Want to know how many people have the last name Nunnery? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.