2000
#25,098
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 927
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.34
Rare Last name
Adderley
From the Old English "eadred" and "lēah," meaning "Eadred's clearing," referring to a person who lived near Eadred's clearing.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,306 Americans carry the last name Adderley. That puts it at #23,063 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.38 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 262,446 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Adderley 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 Adderley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.3K
1 in 262,446
Census rank
#23,063
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,139 bearers of the surname Adderley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.38 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 23063rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Adderley, the largest self-reported group is Black at 70.4%. The next largest groups are White (18.7%) and Two or More Races (5.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Adderley
The surname Adderley has its roots in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is thought to have originated from a place name, with the earliest recorded spelling being "Adelardeslei" in the Domesday Book of 1086. This place name is believed to derive from the Old English personal name "Adelard" and the word "leah," meaning a woodland clearing or meadow.
The name Adderley is strongly associated with Shropshire, a county in the West Midlands region of England. The village of Adderley, located in this county, is likely the place from which the surname originated. Over time, variations in spelling emerged, including Adderdeley, Adderlee, and Adderlay.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Adderley was Thomas Adderley, who was born in Shropshire around 1280. He was a landowner and is mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of the county in 1327.
In the 16th century, Sir Ralph Adderley (1512-1583) was a prominent figure from the Adderley family. He served as High Sheriff of Staffordshire and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I in 1570.
Another notable individual was Sir Charles Bowyer Adderley (1786-1846), a British politician and Member of Parliament for Staffordshire. He was an advocate for social reforms and played a role in the establishment of the General Register Office for England and Wales.
Sir Charles Adderley (1814-1905), a son of Sir Charles Bowyer Adderley, was also a British politician and served as President of the Board of Trade from 1878 to 1880. He was a proponent of colonial expansion and was involved in the establishment of the Straits Settlements in Southeast Asia.
In the 19th century, Sir Claude Hubert Adderley (1853-1926) was a British colonial administrator who served as Governor of Sierra Leone and later as Governor of the Leeward Islands.
The surname Adderley has a rich history rooted in England, particularly in the counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire. Its origin can be traced back to the medieval period, and it has been borne by notable individuals throughout the centuries, including landowners, politicians, and colonial administrators.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Adderley
Among Census respondents with the surname Adderley, the largest self-reported group is Black at 70.4%. The next largest groups are White (18.7%) and Two or More Races (5.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Adderley 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 Adderley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American70.4% · 802
- White18.7% · 213
- Two or more races5.3% · 60
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 57
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Adderley
Adderley 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
#23,500
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,081
+154 bearers (+16.6%)
Per 100,000 0.37
Rank movement Up 1,598 places
2020
#23,063
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,139
+58 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.38
Rank movement Up 437 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #25,098 | 927 | 0.34 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #23,500 | 1,081 | 0.37 | +154 bearers (+16.6%) | Up 1,598 places |
| 2020 | #23,063 | 1,139 | 0.38 | +58 bearers (+5.4%) | Up 437 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 Adderley 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 | #23,500 | #23,063 | 1.9% |
| Count | 1,081 | 1,139 | 5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.37 | 0.38 | 3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Adderley bearers went from 1,081 to 1,139 (+5.4% change). The surname moved up 437 positions in the national ranking, going from #23,500 to #23,063.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Adderley
FAQ
Adderley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Adderley?
Name Census estimates that about 1,306 living Americans carry the surname Adderley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 262,446 residents.
How common is Adderley?
Adderley ranks #23,063 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.38 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,139 people with the surname Adderley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,306), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.38 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.38 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Adderley.
Has Adderley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Adderley went from 1,081 recorded bearers to 1,139. That is an increase of 58 (+5.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #23,500 to #23,063.
What does the Census say about the background of Adderley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Adderley, the largest self-reported group is Black at 70.4%. The next largest groups are White (18.7%) and Two or More Races (5.3%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Adderley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.4% (802 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Adderley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (70.4%), White (18.7%), Two or More Races (5.3%). 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 Adderley (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 Adderley mean?
From the Old English "eadred" and "lēah," meaning "Eadred's clearing," referring to a person who lived near Eadred's clearing. 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 Adderley (0.38 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 Americans have the surname Adderley?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.