2000
#116,835
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 138
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Speechley
A nickname for someone who spoke little or was taciturn.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Speechley. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Speechley 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Speechley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Speechley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Speechley, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and Hispanic (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Speechley
The surname Speechley is of English origin, and it can be traced back to the early medieval period. It is a locational name derived from the place name Speechley in Staffordshire, which in turn comes from the Old English words "spæc" meaning "speech" and "leah" meaning "a clearing or meadow."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Shropshire from 1196, where a person named Richard de Speche is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already in use by the late 12th century.
In the 13th century, the name appears in various forms such as "de Speche," "de Spechia," and "de Spechy," reflecting the evolution of the spelling over time. The earliest recorded spelling of the modern form "Speechley" dates back to 1524, when it was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Staffordshire.
Some notable individuals who bore the Speechley surname include:
1. William Speechley (c. 1600-1670), an English clergyman who served as the Rector of Hartley Wespall in Hampshire.
2. John Speechley (1718-1784), a renowned English horticulturist and botanist, known for his work on the cultivation of pineapples.
3. Elizabeth Speechley (1785-1853), a British writer and educator, who published several books on education and moral instruction for children.
4. Sir John Speechley (1830-1911), a British businessman and politician, who served as the Mayor of Birmingham from 1891 to 1892.
5. Thomas Speechley (1858-1932), a British architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Strand Palace Hotel.
While the name Speechley has its roots in the English countryside, it has since spread to various parts of the world through migration and descendants of the original name-bearers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Speechley
Among Census respondents with the surname Speechley, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and Hispanic (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Speechley 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 Speechley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 96
- Two or more races6.7% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Speechley
Speechley 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
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-20 bearers (-14.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 24,305 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-14 bearers (-11.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 12,450 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #116,835 | 138 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | -20 bearers (-14.5%) | Down 24,305 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -14 bearers (-11.9%) | Down 12,450 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 Speechley 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 | #141,140 | #153,590 | -8.8% |
| Count | 118 | 104 | -11.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Speechley bearers went from 118 to 104 (-11.9% change). The surname moved down 12,450 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #153,590.
FAQ
Speechley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Speechley?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Speechley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Speechley?
Speechley ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 104 people with the surname Speechley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Speechley.
Has Speechley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Speechley went from 118 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 14 (-11.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Speechley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Speechley, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and Hispanic (1.0%). 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 Speechley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Speechley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Two or More Races (6.7%), Hispanic (1.0%). 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 Speechley (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 Speechley mean?
A nickname for someone who spoke little or was taciturn. 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 Speechley (0.03 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 surname Speechley?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.