Explore the Family Name Airey

The meaning of Airey

1. Americanized form of German Erich or Ihrig. Compare Arey. 2. English: habitational name from any of several minor places in northern England named with Old Norse eyrr ‘gravel bank’ + another element, most often á ‘river’. History: Cutlip Airey, recorded in 1782 in Augusta County, VA, is also found as Gatlive Airy and Gottlieb Arey.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Airey's popularity experienced a shift between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked 31,167 but dropped to 33,856 in popularity by 2010, representing an 8.63% decrease. The count of individuals with this last name also declined from 704 in 2000 to 672 in 2010, exhibiting a 4.55% fall. Consequently, the proportion per 100k people decreased by 11.54%, from 0.26 in 2000 to 0.23 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#31,167	#33,856	-8.63%
Count	704	672	-4.55%
Proportion per 100k	0.26	0.23	-11.54%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Airey

In terms of ethnicity, data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals some changes over the decade. Asian/Pacific Islander representation within those bearing the Airey surname was logged at 0 in 2000 but increased to 0.89 by 2010. Those identifying with two or more races decreased by 50.62%. The majority identified as White, although there was a slight drop from 92.19% in 2000 to 89.88% in 2010. The Hispanic population within the Airey surname group saw substantial growth, increasing by 92.97%, while the Black population also grew considerably by 85.06%. There was no recorded change for those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native.

	2000	2010	Change
White	92.19%	89.88%	-2.51%
Black	2.41%	4.46%	85.06%
Hispanic	1.85%	3.57%	92.97%
Two or More Races	2.41%	1.19%	-50.62%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0.89%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%