2000
#2,503
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,226
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.90
Uncommon Last name
Yancey
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "Eanca's island" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,138 Americans carry the last name Yancey. That puts it at #2,670 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.42 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 22,642 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Yancey 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.
Bearers in the US
15K
1 in 22,642
Census rank
#2,670
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,201 bearers of the surname Yancey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.42 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2670th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Yancey, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.2%. The next largest groups are Black (30.0%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Yancey
The surname Yancey is of English origin, believed to have emerged in the 16th century. It is thought to be a variant spelling of the Old English name "Ianc" or "Ianec," derived from the personal name "John." The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in parish records from the counties of Gloucestershire and Hertfordshire.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Thomas Yancey, who was born in Gloucestershire in 1568. Records indicate that he was a merchant and landowner in the town of Tewkesbury. Another early example is William Yancey, born in Hertfordshire in 1592, who served as a parish clerk in the village of Ashwell.
The Yancey name also appears in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of landholdings compiled in 1086 under the orders of William the Conqueror. The entry refers to a landowner named "Ianc" in the county of Wiltshire, which may have been an early spelling variation of the name.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Yancey family established roots in various parts of England, particularly in the counties of Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall. Notable individuals from this period include Sir Robert Yancey (1620-1687), a wealthy merchant and alderman in the city of Bristol, and Reverend John Yancey (1674-1741), a Church of England clergyman who served as the rector of St. Mary's Church in Exeter.
As the British Empire expanded, some Yanceys immigrated to the American colonies in the 18th and 19th centuries. One of the earliest and most prominent figures was William Lowndes Yancey (1814-1863), a politician and orator from Alabama who was a leading advocate for secession and played a significant role in the events leading up to the American Civil War.
Other notable individuals with the Yancey surname include Clarence Yancey (1877-1938), an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Texas; Bill Yancey (1942-2009), an American professional golfer who won several titles on the PGA Tour; and Martha Yancey (1900-1981), an American painter and textile artist known for her innovative fabric designs.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yancey
Among Census respondents with the surname Yancey, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.2%. The next largest groups are Black (30.0%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Yancey 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 Yancey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.2% · 8,073
- Black or African American30.0% · 3,963
- Two or more races4.7% · 622
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 410
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 70
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 63
Timeline
Historical Census data for Yancey
Yancey 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
#2,656
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,566
+340 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 4.60
Rank movement Down 153 places
2020
#2,670
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,201
-365 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 4.42
Rank movement Down 14 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,503 | 13,226 | 4.90 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,656 | 13,566 | 4.60 | +340 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 153 places |
| 2020 | #2,670 | 13,201 | 4.42 | -365 bearers (-2.7%) | Down 14 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 Yancey 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 | #2,656 | #2,670 | -0.5% |
| Count | 13,566 | 13,201 | -2.7% |
| Per 100K | 4.60 | 4.42 | -4.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Yancey bearers went from 13,566 to 13,201 (-2.7% change). The surname moved down 14 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,656 to #2,670.
FAQ
Yancey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Yancey?
Name Census estimates that about 15,138 living Americans carry the surname Yancey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 22,642 residents.
How common is Yancey?
Yancey ranks #2,670 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.42 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,201 people with the surname Yancey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,138), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.42 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.42 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Yancey.
Has Yancey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Yancey went from 13,566 recorded bearers to 13,201. That is a decrease of 365 (-2.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,656 to #2,670.
What does the Census say about the background of Yancey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Yancey, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.2%. The next largest groups are Black (30.0%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Yancey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.2% (8,073 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Yancey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (61.2%), Black (30.0%), Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Yancey (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 Yancey mean?
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "Eanca's island" in Old English. 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 Yancey (4.42 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 Yancey?
See how many Americans have the surname Yancey on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.