Nutt last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Nutt

An English occupational surname for a person who gathered or processed nuts, or lived near a nut tree.

Nutt, 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 Nutt surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nutt in America

Nutt is the 4706th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nutt surname appeared 7,541 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Nutt.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nutt 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 4706 4582 2.67%
Count 7,541 7,098 6.05%
Proportion per 100k 2.56 2.63 -2.70%

The history of the last name Nutt

The surname Nutt is of English origin, believed to have derived from a nickname for someone with a rounded or nut-like head. It is thought to have emerged in the late 12th or early 13th century, initially as a descriptive name.

The earliest known record of the name dates back to 1273 in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire, where a Richard le Nut is mentioned. The prefix "le" was commonly used at the time to indicate a descriptive name or occupation.

In the 14th century, the name appears in various forms, such as Nott, Notte, and Nut, reflecting the variations in spelling and pronunciation common in that era. The Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327 list a William le Nutte, while the Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire in 1379 include a John Nott.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sir William Nutt, a prominent landowner and Member of Parliament for Wiltshire in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. He served under King Richard II and King Henry IV.

The surname Nutt is also associated with several place names in England, such as Nutfield in Surrey and Nutley in Hampshire. These locations may have influenced the adoption or spread of the name in certain areas.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Nutt family established roots in various parts of England, with notable individuals including Richard Nutt (1548-1624), a wealthy merchant and benefactor from London, and Thomas Nutt (1611-1660), a Puritan clergyman and author from Wiltshire.

In the 18th century, John Nutt (1678-1751) was a prominent London bookseller and publisher, known for publishing works by authors like Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope.

Another notable bearer of the name was Sir Roger Nutt (1786-1864), a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars and later became a Member of Parliament for Wiltshire.

Throughout its history, the surname Nutt has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, clergy, merchants, and military figures, reflecting its longstanding presence in English society.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nutt

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

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 Nutt was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 88.34% 6,662
Non-Hispanic Black Only 6.21% 468
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 1.10% 83
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.70% 53
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.64% 124
Hispanic Origin 2.00% 151

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 Nutt has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 88.34% 90.17% -2.05%
Black 6.21% 5.80% 6.83%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.10% 0.58% 61.90%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.70% 0.58% 18.75%
Two or More Races 1.64% 1.62% 1.23%
Hispanic 2.00% 1.25% 46.15%

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

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Nutt last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 13, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/nutt-surname-popularity/.

"Nutt last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/nutt-surname-popularity/. Accessed 13 October, 2024

Nutt last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/nutt-surname-popularity/.

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