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

Silvernail, 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 Silvernail surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Silvernail in America

Silvernail is the 18057th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Silvernail surname appeared 1,544 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 Silvernail.

We can also compare 2010 data for Silvernail 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 Silvernail

The surname Silvernail is believed to have originated in England, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 13th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "seolfor" (silver) and "naegl" (nail), suggesting a potential connection to a silversmith or metalworker trade.

One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire, a census-like record compiled in 1273. This document mentions a person named Robert Silvernail, indicating the surname's existence during the medieval period.

Throughout the following centuries, the name appears in various historical records and manuscripts across different regions of England. For instance, the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1301 list a John Silvernail, while the Parish Registers of Lincolnshire in the 16th century reference a family named Silvernail residing in the village of Louth.

The name has also been associated with certain place names, particularly in areas where metalworking or mining activities were prevalent. For example, the village of Silvernail in Shropshire, England, may have derived its name from the presence of Silvernail families engaged in local metalwork or mining operations.

Among the notable individuals bearing the Silvernail surname, one can mention:

1. Richard Silvernail (c. 1580 - 1642), an English merchant and trader who established trade connections with the Americas and the West Indies.

2. Elizabeth Silvernail (1625 - 1689), a pioneering settler in the New England colonies, known for her involvement in the establishment of the town of Wethersfield, Connecticut.

3. William Silvernail (1715 - 1793), a prominent landowner and farmer in Pennsylvania, whose family played a role in the early development of the region.

4. Jacob Silvernail (1745 - 1812), a soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War and later became a respected community leader in upstate New York.

5. Mary Silvernail (1790 - 1865), a prolific writer and poet from New York, whose works explored themes of nature, spirituality, and social issues of her time.

While the surname Silvernail is not among the most common in modern times, its historical roots can be traced back to medieval England, with potential connections to metalworking trades and specific geographic locations where families bearing this name resided and contributed to local communities.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Silvernail

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

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

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

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