2000
#8,176
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,731
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.38
Rare Last name
Scarberry
An English occupational surname referring to someone who harvested or sold a type of berry, likely strawberries.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,139 Americans carry the last name Scarberry. That puts it at #8,721 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 82,811 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Scarberry 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
4.1K
1 in 82,811
Census rank
#8,721
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,609 bearers of the surname Scarberry in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8721st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Scarberry, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Scarberry
The surname Scarberry originated in England during the late medieval period, likely in the 13th or 14th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "sceard" meaning "gap" or "notch" and "burh" meaning "fortified place" or "manor". This suggests that the name may have referred to a person who lived near a fortified settlement situated in a gap or pass between hills or mountains.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1379, where a John de Scardburgh is mentioned. The spelling variations include Scardeburghe, Skardburgh, and Scardeburgh, reflecting the regional dialects and scribal adaptations of the time.
In the 15th century, the surname appears in the Paston Letters, a collection of correspondence between members of the Paston family in Norfolk. A certain Thomas Scardeburgh is mentioned as a servant in a letter dated 1472.
The name Scarberry is also associated with the town of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, which may have been the original place of origin for some bearers of the surname. The town's name is derived from the Old Norse words "sker" meaning "projecting rock or cliff" and "burgh" meaning "fortified place".
Notable historical figures with the surname Scarberry include:
1. William Scarberry (c. 1520-1584), an English churchman and prelate who served as the Bishop of Peterborough from 1577 until his death.
2. Robert Scarberry (c. 1570-1635), an English merchant and explorer who traveled to the Americas and documented his experiences in a journal published in 1628.
3. Elizabeth Scarberry (c. 1610-1672), an English poet and writer whose collection of poems titled "The Garden of Delight" was published posthumously in 1674.
4. John Scarberry (c. 1650-1721), an English landowner and member of the gentry class in Lincolnshire, known for his involvement in local politics and administration.
5. Thomas Scarberry (c. 1780-1845), a British military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later authored a memoir detailing his experiences during the Battle of Waterloo.
While the surname Scarberry is not among the most common in England, its historical roots can be traced back several centuries, with various bearers leaving their mark in various fields throughout the ages.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Scarberry
Among Census respondents with the surname Scarberry, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Scarberry 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 Scarberry surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.7% · 3,238
- Two or more races5.0% · 182
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 103
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 52
- Black or African American0.6% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Scarberry
Scarberry 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
#8,617
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,818
+87 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 1.29
Rank movement Down 441 places
2020
#8,721
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,609
-209 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 1.21
Rank movement Down 104 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,176 | 3,731 | 1.38 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,617 | 3,818 | 1.29 | +87 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 441 places |
| 2020 | #8,721 | 3,609 | 1.21 | -209 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 104 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 Scarberry 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 | #8,617 | #8,721 | -1.2% |
| Count | 3,818 | 3,609 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.29 | 1.21 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Scarberry bearers went from 3,818 to 3,609 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 104 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,617 to #8,721.
FAQ
Scarberry surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Scarberry?
Name Census estimates that about 4,139 living Americans carry the surname Scarberry. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 82,811 residents.
How common is Scarberry?
Scarberry ranks #8,721 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.21 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 3,609 people with the surname Scarberry. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,139), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.21 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 Scarberry.
Has Scarberry become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Scarberry went from 3,818 recorded bearers to 3,609. That is a decrease of 209 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,617 to #8,721.
What does the Census say about the background of Scarberry?
Among Census respondents with the surname Scarberry, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Scarberry in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (3,238 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Scarberry appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.7%), Two or More Races (5.0%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Scarberry (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 Scarberry mean?
An English occupational surname referring to someone who harvested or sold a type of berry, likely strawberries. 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 Scarberry (1.21 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 have the last name Scarberry?
Find out how many people have the surname Scarberry on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.