2000
#2,297
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,483
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.37
Uncommon Last name
Starkey
An English occupational surname referring to a person who worked as a gamekeeper or tender of livestock.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 16,035 Americans carry the last name Starkey. That puts it at #2,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 21,375 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Starkey 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 Starkey with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
16K
1 in 21,375
Census rank
#2,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,983 bearers of the surname Starkey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Starkey, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Starkey
The surname Starkey is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "stær-cæg" or "starkey," meaning "starkey" or "stern challenger." The name first emerged in the northern counties of England, particularly in Lancashire and Yorkshire, during the 13th and 14th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire from 1332, which mentions a John Starkye. The Starkey surname also appeared in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1379, referencing a William Starkey.
The Starkey family held significant influence in the county of Cheshire during the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance period. Sir Humphrey Starkey (c. 1496-1548) was a prominent figure and author who served as the Chief Justice of the County Palatine of Chester under Henry VIII.
Another notable individual with the Starkey surname was Thomas Starkey (1499-1538), an English philosopher and humanist scholar who wrote influential works on political theory and education. He was a contemporary of Sir Thomas More and was executed for his alleged involvement in the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion.
In the 17th century, the Starkey family established themselves in the West Midlands region of England. John Starkey (1627-1665) was a renowned nonconformist minister and author who played a significant role in the Puritan movement.
The Starkey name has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Starkey's Farm in Lancashire and Starkey's Lane in Cheshire. These place names likely derived from the surname itself, indicating the presence of Starkey families in those areas.
Other notable individuals bearing the Starkey surname include:
1. Geoffrey Starkey (1936-2022), an English historian and author known for his works on Tudor England.
2. David Starkey (born 1945), a prominent English constitutional historian and television presenter.
3. Martin Starkey (born 1962), an English film director and screenwriter.
4. Sir Richard Starkey, better known as Ringo Starr (born 1940), the legendary drummer of the Beatles.
5. Edmund Starkey (1519-1587), an English clergyman and theologian who served as the Bishop of Bangor.
The Starkey surname has a rich history rooted in the northern counties of England, with connections to influential figures in various fields, including law, literature, religion, and the arts.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Starkey
Among Census respondents with the surname Starkey, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Starkey 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 Starkey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.1% · 12,037
- Black or African American5.7% · 794
- Two or more races3.7% · 514
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 413
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 115
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 110
Timeline
Historical Census data for Starkey
Starkey 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
#2,415
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,004
+521 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 5.09
Rank movement Down 118 places
2020
#2,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,983
-1,021 bearers (-6.8%)
Per 100,000 4.68
Rank movement Down 96 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,297 | 14,483 | 5.37 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,415 | 15,004 | 5.09 | +521 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 118 places |
| 2020 | #2,511 | 13,983 | 4.68 | -1,021 bearers (-6.8%) | Down 96 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 Starkey 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 | #2,415 | #2,511 | -4.0% |
| Count | 15,004 | 13,983 | -6.8% |
| Per 100K | 5.09 | 4.68 | -8.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Starkey bearers went from 15,004 to 13,983 (-6.8% change). The surname moved down 96 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,415 to #2,511.
FAQ
Starkey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Starkey?
Name Census estimates that about 16,035 living Americans carry the surname Starkey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 21,375 residents.
How common is Starkey?
Starkey ranks #2,511 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.68 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,983 people with the surname Starkey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (16,035), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.68 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Starkey.
Has Starkey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Starkey went from 15,004 recorded bearers to 13,983. That is a decrease of 1,021 (-6.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,415 to #2,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Starkey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Starkey, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Starkey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.1% (12,037 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Starkey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.1%), Black (5.7%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Starkey (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 Starkey mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a person who worked as a gamekeeper or tender of livestock. 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 Starkey (4.68 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 Starkey?
See how many people have the surname Starkey on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.