Explore the Family Name Basnett

The meaning of Basnett

English and Irish (of Norman origin): from Middle English bacinet (Norman French bassinet) ‘hemispherical helmet, without a visor, worn under the fighting helmet; also (later), a pointed helmet with a visor’, denoting someone who wore or made headgear of this kind. The name was prominent in Dublin throughout the 16th century, but is now found mainly in Liverpool, England.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Basnett has seen a downward trend from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, the rank of the surname was 35,387 but slipped down to 41,359 in 2010, marking a decrease of 16.88%. The count of people with this surname also declined by 12.62%, from 602 in 2000 to 526 in 2010. The proportion per 100k individuals also fell from 0.22 to 0.18 during this period, representing an 18.18% drop.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#35,387	#41,359	-16.88%
Count	602	526	-12.62%
Proportion per 100k	0.22	0.18	-18.18%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Basnett

In terms of ethnicity, data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals that majority of the individuals with the Basnett surname identify as White, with a slight increase from 93.52% in 2000 to 93.73% in 2010. No individuals identified as Asian/Pacific Islander or Black in either year. The percentage of those identifying with two or more races decreased by 34.76%, while the percentage of Hispanic individuals declined by 33.17%. Interestingly, there was a significant rise of 52% in the individuals identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native, even though they represent a small fraction of those with the Basnett surname.

	2000	2010	Change
White	93.52%	93.73%	0.22%
Two or More Races	2.33%	1.52%	-34.76%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	1%	1.52%	52%
Hispanic	1.99%	1.33%	-33.17%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%