Explore the Family Name Ainslie

The meaning of Ainslie

English and Scottish: habitational name from Ansley in Warwickshire or Annesley in Nottinghamshire (see Ansley and Ainsley). The modern surname is found mainly in the border regions of Scotland and northern England, having been taken north from England to Scotland in the Middle Ages. History: The Ainslie family first appears in Scotland attached to the church establishment of Glasgow during the episcopate of Walter of Saint Albans (1208–32). William of Ainslie was a steward and clerk of Bishop Walter. The first lay member of the family in Scotland was one Aymer of Ainslie, a knight, in the 1240s, and a John of Ainslie apparently held land at Crossford, Lanarkshire in the 1290s. — The poet Hew Ainslie (1792–1878) emigrated from Ayrshire, Scotland, to the US in 1822 and became a prominent citizen of Louisville, KY.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Ainslie in the United States?

The surname Ainslie, based on Decennial U.S. Census data, ranked 23,237 in popularity in 2000 and 24,648 in 2010, marking a decrease in its popularity by 6.07%. The count of individuals bearing the surname also decreased marginally from 1,024 in 2000 to 1,013 in 2010, a decline of 1.07%. The proportion of individuals with this surname per 100,000 was 0.38 in 2000 and reduced to 0.34 in 2010, representing a drop of 10.53%.

20002010Change
Rank#23,237#24,648-6.07%
Count1,0241,013-1.07%
Proportion per 100k0.380.34-10.53%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Ainslie

In terms of ethnicity as per the Decennial U.S. Census, the majority of the Ainslies identified as White, although this percentage declined slightly from 93.07% in 2000 to 89.83% in 2010. The representation of Asian/Pacific Islander among the Ainslies grew by 14.10% from 0.78% in 2000 to 0.89% in 2010. Those identifying with two or more ethnic identities saw a significant increase of 56.82% from 1.76% in 2000 to 2.76% in 2010. Additionally, there was a notable rise of 62.78% in the Hispanic representation within the Ainslie surname bearers from 3.52% in 2000 to 5.73% in 2010. The data shows no change for Black and American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicities among the Ainslies for both years.

20002010Change
White93.07%89.83%-3.48%
Hispanic3.52%5.73%62.78%
Two or More Races1.76%2.76%56.82%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.78%0.89%14.1%
Black0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%