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

Romney, 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 Romney surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Romney in America

Romney is the 16395th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Romney surname appeared 1,755 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 Romney.

We can also compare 2010 data for Romney 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 Romney

The surname Romney has its origins in the English county of Kent. It is derived from the Old English words 'rumen' meaning wide and 'ey' meaning island or meadow. The name likely referred to someone who lived on or near a wide meadow or island.

The earliest recorded mention of the surname dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Rumeney'. This suggests the name was already well-established in England by the late 11th century.

By the 13th century, variations like 'Romeney', 'Romeneye', and 'Romeney' begin appearing in various historical records and tax rolls from Kent and Sussex. These spellings reflect the surname's evolution over time.

The Romney family can trace their ancestry back to Geoffrey de Romene, born around 1210 in Kent. He was a landowner and one of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname.

Another notable early bearer was John de Romeney, born circa 1275 in Romney Marsh, Kent. He served as a Member of Parliament for Kent in the early 14th century.

During the 16th century, Romney became a more commonly used spelling. William Romney (1508-1584) was a successful merchant and Mayor of Sandwich, Kent in 1569.

In the 17th century, the surname spread beyond Kent as some Romney families migrated to other parts of England and eventually to the American colonies. Miles Romney (1600-1672) was among the earliest settlers in Massachusetts.

Other historically significant individuals include Thomas Romney Robinson (1792-1882), an English banker and politician, and George Romney (1734-1802), a renowned English portrait painter.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Romney

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

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

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

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