2000
#12,450
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,287
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Yelverton
Derived from a place name meaning "town on the River Yeo" in Old English, likely referring to Yelverton, Devon.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,522 Americans carry the last name Yelverton. That puts it at #13,285 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 135,906 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Yelverton 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
2.5K
1 in 135,906
Census rank
#13,285
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,199 bearers of the surname Yelverton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13285th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Yelverton, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.3%. The next largest groups are Black (29.6%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Yelverton
The surname Yelverton has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "yelfe" and "tun," meaning "elven" and "town" or "enclosure," respectively. This suggests that the name may have originated from a place associated with elves or fairies in folklore.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Yelverton can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Yelvertone" in this historical document, referring to a settlement or landholding in the county of Norfolk.
During the 13th century, the Yelverton family held lands and properties in the village of Yelverton, near Norwich in Norfolk. This place name is thought to be the direct origin of the surname, with various spellings such as "Yelvertun" and "Yelverton" appearing in medieval records.
Notable individuals with the surname Yelverton include Sir Henry Yelverton (1566-1629), an English judge and politician who served as a Member of Parliament and was appointed as a Justice of the Court of King's Bench. Another prominent figure was Sir Christopher Yelverton (1535-1612), a member of the English gentry and a Member of Parliament for Norfolk.
In the 17th century, Sir Henry Yelverton (1620-1678) was an English landowner and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Norfolk during the English Civil War. His son, also named Henry Yelverton (1662-1718), was a lawyer and politician who held the position of Solicitor General for England and Wales.
Another noteworthy Yelverton was Walter Yelverton (1620-1696), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Master of St. John's College, Cambridge, and was appointed as the Archdeacon of Bedford.
Throughout history, the Yelverton surname has been associated with landed gentry, members of the legal profession, and influential figures in politics and academia, primarily in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk in eastern England.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yelverton
Among Census respondents with the surname Yelverton, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.3%. The next largest groups are Black (29.6%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Yelverton 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 Yelverton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.3% · 1,393
- Black or African American29.6% · 650
- Two or more races3.7% · 81
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 55
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Yelverton
Yelverton 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
#13,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,318
+31 bearers (+1.4%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 736 places
2020
#13,285
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,199
-119 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 99 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,450 | 2,287 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,186 | 2,318 | 0.79 | +31 bearers (+1.4%) | Down 736 places |
| 2020 | #13,285 | 2,199 | 0.74 | -119 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 99 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 Yelverton 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 | #13,186 | #13,285 | -0.8% |
| Count | 2,318 | 2,199 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.79 | 0.74 | -6.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Yelverton bearers went from 2,318 to 2,199 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 99 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,186 to #13,285.
FAQ
Yelverton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Yelverton?
Name Census estimates that about 2,522 living Americans carry the surname Yelverton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 135,906 residents.
How common is Yelverton?
Yelverton ranks #13,285 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,199 people with the surname Yelverton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,522), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.74 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Yelverton.
Has Yelverton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Yelverton went from 2,318 recorded bearers to 2,199. That is a decrease of 119 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,186 to #13,285.
What does the Census say about the background of Yelverton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Yelverton, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.3%. The next largest groups are Black (29.6%) 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 Yelverton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.3% (1,393 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Yelverton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (63.3%), Black (29.6%), 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 Yelverton (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 Yelverton mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "town on the River Yeo" in Old English, likely referring to Yelverton, Devon. 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 Yelverton (0.74 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 Yelverton?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.