2000
#2,051
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,194
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.00
Uncommon Last name
Abernathy
A Scottish toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "mouth of the river Nethy" in Gaelic.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,927 Americans carry the last name Abernathy. That puts it at #2,266 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,119 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Abernathy 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
18K
1 in 19,119
Census rank
#2,266
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,633 bearers of the surname Abernathy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2266th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Abernathy, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (16.1%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Abernathy
The surname Abernathy has its origins in Scotland, tracing back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Gaelic words 'Obair' meaning 'confluence' and 'Nethy' which was the name of a river, combining to form 'Obair Nethy' or 'Abernethy'. This name referred to the town of Abernethy in Perthshire, Scotland, situated at the confluence of the rivers Nethy and Tay.
The earliest recorded mention of the name Abernathy can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which were a series of official documents recording the names of Scottish nobles and landowners who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. One such entry lists a 'Laurence de Abernathy' from Abernethy, indicating the name's association with the town.
In the 14th century, records show the name spelled in various ways, such as 'Abirnethy', 'Abyrnathy', and 'Abyrnethy', reflecting the evolution of spelling over time. The name also appeared in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, which were financial records maintained by the Scottish royal court, mentioning individuals like 'John de Abyrnathy' and 'William de Abyrnathy'.
One notable figure bearing the Abernathy surname was Sir William Abernathy, a Scottish knight who fought alongside Robert the Bruce in the Wars of Scottish Independence during the early 14th century. Another prominent individual was George Abernathy, a Scottish mathematician and astronomer born in 1619, who made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics.
In the 17th century, the name spread to Ireland, where it was anglicized to 'Avernethy' and 'Avernathy'. A notable Irish bearer of the name was John Avernethy, a Presbyterian minister born in County Down in 1680, who played a role in the establishment of Presbyterianism in Ireland.
As the name traveled to other parts of the world, it underwent further spelling variations. In the United States, the Abernathy surname can be traced back to the 18th century, with individuals like James Abernathy, a Revolutionary War soldier born in Virginia in 1760, and John Abernathy, a prominent lawyer and judge born in Virginia in 1783.
Other notable individuals with the Abernathy surname include Ralph Abernathy, a prominent American civil rights leader and close associate of Martin Luther King Jr., born in 1926, and Jack Abernathy, an American businessman and real estate developer born in 1923, who co-founded the Abernathy Company in Dallas, Texas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Abernathy
Among Census respondents with the surname Abernathy, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (16.1%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Abernathy 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 Abernathy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.3% · 11,769
- Black or African American16.1% · 2,523
- Two or more races4.4% · 686
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 487
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 89
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 79
Timeline
Historical Census data for Abernathy
Abernathy 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
#2,216
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,450
+256 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 5.58
Rank movement Down 165 places
2020
#2,266
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,633
-817 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 5.23
Rank movement Down 50 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,051 | 16,194 | 6.00 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,216 | 16,450 | 5.58 | +256 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 165 places |
| 2020 | #2,266 | 15,633 | 5.23 | -817 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 50 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 Abernathy 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 | #2,216 | #2,266 | -2.3% |
| Count | 16,450 | 15,633 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 5.58 | 5.23 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Abernathy bearers went from 16,450 to 15,633 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 50 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,216 to #2,266.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Abernathy
FAQ
Abernathy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Abernathy?
Name Census estimates that about 17,927 living Americans carry the surname Abernathy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,119 residents.
How common is Abernathy?
Abernathy ranks #2,266 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.23 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 15,633 people with the surname Abernathy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,927), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.23 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 Abernathy.
Has Abernathy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Abernathy went from 16,450 recorded bearers to 15,633. That is a decrease of 817 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,216 to #2,266.
What does the Census say about the background of Abernathy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Abernathy, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (16.1%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Abernathy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.3% (11,769 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Abernathy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.3%), Black (16.1%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Abernathy (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 Abernathy mean?
A Scottish toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "mouth of the river Nethy" in Gaelic. 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 Abernathy (5.23 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 Abernathy?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.