Explore the Family Name Athearn

The meaning of Athearn

English (Kent): habitational name from Eythorne in Kent. History: Simon Athearn (c.1643–1714) was one of the earliest settlers on Martha’s Vineyard, MA. His family is believed to have originated in Kent, England.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Athearn has seen a slight decline over the years. In 2000, Athearn ranked 57,849 in terms of popularity and the count of individuals with this surname was at 329. By 2010, it had slipped to rank 60,347 despite a marginal increase in the count to 334 people. This denoted a negative change of 4.32% in its ranking coupled with a mild 1.52% rise in the count. The proportion per 100,000 also saw a decrease, going from 0.12 in 2000 to 0.11 in 2010, marking an 8.33% drop.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#57,849	#60,347	-4.32%
Count	329	334	1.52%
Proportion per 100k	0.12	0.11	-8.33%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Athearn

When it comes to the ethnic identity associated with the Athearn surname, it is predominantly White, as indicated by the Decennial U.S. Census data. In 2000, around 96.35% of those with the Athearn surname identified as White, but this percentage dropped slightly to 93.41% in 2010. The percentage of those identifying with two or more races also saw a decrease from 1.82% in 2000 to 1.5% in 2010. Notably, there was an emergence of Hispanic ethnicity among individuals with the Athearn surname in 2010, accounting for 2.1% of the total. However, no individuals with this surname identified as Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native during these census years.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.35%	93.41%	-3.05%
Hispanic	0%	2.1%	0%
Two or More Races	1.82%	1.5%	-17.58%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%