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

Schoolcraft, 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 Schoolcraft surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Schoolcraft in America

Schoolcraft is the 12083rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Schoolcraft surname appeared 2,579 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 Schoolcraft.

We can also compare 2010 data for Schoolcraft 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 Schoolcraft

The surname Schoolcraft has its origins in England, tracing back to the 14th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "scolu" and "cræft," which together mean "school" and "craft" or "skill." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone skilled in teaching or associated with a school.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Schoolcraft can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Buckinghamshire from 1327, where it appears as "Scolecroft." This variation in spelling was common in those times due to the lack of standardized orthography.

During the Middle Ages, the Schoolcraft family was prominent in the county of Oxfordshire. Historical records show that a John Schoolcraft was a landowner in the village of Wytham near Oxford in the late 15th century.

In the 16th century, the name appears in various forms, such as "Scholecroft" and "Schollcroft," in the parish registers of Warwickshire and Gloucestershire, respectively.

One notable bearer of the Schoolcraft name was Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, an American geographer, geologist, and ethnologist born in 1793. He is renowned for his extensive studies of Native American cultures and his contributions to the field of Native American studies.

Another individual of historical significance was William Schoolcraft, born in 1678, who served as the Mayor of Norwich, England, from 1738 to 1739.

In the 18th century, the Schoolcraft family had established a presence in the American colonies. Records show that a Samuel Schoolcraft was a landowner in Virginia in the mid-1700s.

The Schoolcraft name has also been associated with place names, such as Schoolcraft County in Michigan, which was named after Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, the renowned ethnologist.

Other notable individuals with the surname Schoolcraft include John Schoolcraft, an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York in the early 19th century, and Mary Schoolcraft, an American author and educator born in 1826.

While the Schoolcraft surname is not among the most common in the English-speaking world, it has a rich history dating back to medieval times and has been carried by individuals who have made significant contributions in various fields throughout the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Schoolcraft

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

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

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

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