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

Nurse, 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 Nurse surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nurse in America

Nurse is the 11327th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nurse surname appeared 2,786 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 Nurse.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nurse 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 Nurse

The surname Nurse is an English occupational name that originated from the Old French word "norrice" or the Middle English word "norrice/nurrice," which mean "wet nurse" or "one who nourishes." This name likely emerged during the 12th or 13th century in England, referring to individuals who worked as wet nurses, caring for and nursing infants and young children.

The earliest known record of the name Nurse can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where it appears as "le Nurrice." This document contains records of landowners and tenants in various counties of England during the reign of King Edward I. Another early mention of the name is in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, where it is listed as "Anneys Nurys."

One of the earliest individuals with the surname Nurse was John Nurse, who was born around 1450 in Navestock, Essex, England. He was a landowner and is mentioned in several historical records from the late 15th century.

In the 16th century, the name Nurse was also associated with places like Nurse's Cross in Cheshire, which was recorded as "Nurscrosse" in 1586. This suggests that some Nurses may have taken their name from a location rather than solely from the occupational origin.

During the 17th century, the name Nurse gained prominence with individuals like Samuel Nurse (1616-1696), an English clergyman and author who served as the Rector of Stanstead Abbots in Hertfordshire.

Another notable figure was Francis Nurse (1618-1695), a prominent landowner and member of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was the husband of Rebecca Nurse, who was tragically executed during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692.

In the 18th century, the name was associated with individuals like Richard Nurse (1720-1795), an English painter and engraver known for his landscapes and topographical views.

In the 19th century, John Nurse (1798-1876) was a renowned English cricketer who played for the Marylebone Cricket Club and is considered one of the earliest great bowlers in the sport.

The 20th century saw the rise of individuals like Sir Wilfred Nurse (1894-1967), a British civil servant and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) from 1949 to 1953.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nurse

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

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

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

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