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

Upsher, 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 Upsher surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Upsher in America

Upsher is the 89403rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Upsher surname appeared 207 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Upsher.

We can also compare 2010 data for Upsher 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 Upsher

The surname Upsher is believed to have originated in England, with records dating back to the 13th century. It is likely derived from the Old English words "upp" and "scir," meaning "upper" and "shire," respectively. This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who resided in the upper part of a particular county or region.

One of the earliest known mentions of the Upsher name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex, dated 1296, which lists a certain William Upsher as a taxpayer. This indicates that the name was already established in that area by the late 13th century.

In the 14th century, the Upsher surname appeared in various regions of England, including Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire. The Lincolnshire Survey of 1334 records a John Upsher as a landowner in the village of Barton-upon-Humber.

During the 16th century, the Upsher name was found in several parish records, such as the christening of John Upsher in Harworth, Nottinghamshire, in 1568. The variant spelling "Upshire" was also used in some areas, as evidenced by the marriage record of Thomas Upshire and Jane Woodhouse in Rotherham, Yorkshire, in 1587.

One notable bearer of the Upsher name was Sir William Upsher (1555-1623), a wealthy merchant and alderman of the City of London. He served as the Lord Mayor of London from 1621 to 1622 and was knighted by King James I in recognition of his contributions to the city.

Another well-known figure was John Upsher (1716-1798), an English clergyman and author who wrote several religious works, including "A Discourse on the Nature and Necessity of Regeneration" and "The Practical Expositor of the Book of Revelation."

In the 19th century, the Upsher surname was found in various parts of England, as well as in some areas of Scotland and Wales. One example is William Upsher (1832-1901), a Scottish engineer and inventor who patented several improvements to steam engines and boilers.

Throughout history, variations of the Upsher name have appeared, such as Upshire, Upshare, and Upshere, reflecting local dialects and spelling conventions. However, the core meaning and origin of the surname can be traced back to the Old English words describing an elevated location within a particular region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Upsher

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!