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

Old, 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 Old surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Old in America

Old is the 24237th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Old surname appeared 1,035 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Old.

We can also compare 2010 data for Old 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 Old

The surname OLD is of Anglo-Saxon origin, deriving from the Old English word "eald" meaning "old" or "aged". It is believed to have originated in England during the early medieval period, around the 7th to 11th centuries.

The name was likely initially used as a descriptive nickname for an elderly person or someone who appeared older than their years. It may have also been used to distinguish between individuals with the same given name, with "Old" being added to differentiate the elder from the younger.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname OLD can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landowners and property commissioned by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest of England. The name is listed as "Olde" in this document.

In the 13th century, records show an individual named John le Old residing in Shropshire, England. Another early example is William le Old, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1230.

During the Middle Ages, the surname OLD was sometimes spelled differently, with variations such as "Ould", "Olde", and "Oldd" appearing in historical records. These spellings reflect the pronunciation changes and regional dialects of the time.

One notable historical figure with the surname OLD was Sir William Old, a prominent English lawyer and Member of Parliament who lived from 1480 to 1551. He served as a Justice of the Common Pleas and was appointed to the Privy Council by King Henry VIII.

Another individual of note was John Old, an English Catholic martyr who was born around 1558 and executed in 1588 for his religious beliefs during the English Reformation under Queen Elizabeth I.

In the 17th century, William Old was a prominent English divine and academic who served as the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, and later as the Bishop of St. David's from 1657 until his death in 1661.

During the 18th century, Thomas Olds (also spelled Old) was a notable English navigator and explorer who conducted several voyages to the Arctic regions between 1768 and 1775, contributing to the exploration and mapping of the northern seas.

Finally, in the 19th century, Walter Old was an English antiquarian and author who lived from 1834 to 1901. He wrote extensively on the history and antiquities of the county of Shropshire, where the surname OLD has deep roots.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Old

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

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

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

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