Explore the Family Name Butts

The meaning of Butts

English: 1. variant of Butt, with post-medieval excrescent -s. 2. topographic name from Middle English buttes, either a reference to the short ridges of plowed land at the edge of a common arable field, or the plural form of butt ‘tree stump’ or ‘mound, hillock, archery butt’. See Butt 2.

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

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

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Butts slightly decreased from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, the surname was ranked 1381 and had about 23,540 bearers in the United States. By 2010, the ranking slipped to 1548 and the count of individuals with this surname dropped to approximately 23,227. This represents a decline in popularity by 12.09% and a decrease in the number of people with this surname by 1.33%. The proportion of individuals named Butts per 100,000 also declined by 9.85%.

20002010Change
Rank#1,381#1,548-12.09%
Count23,54023,227-1.33%
Proportion per 100k8.737.87-9.85%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Butts

The ethnic identity associated with the surname Butts showed some shifts between 2000 and 2010 according to the Decennial U.S. Census. The percentage of individuals identified as White decreased from 68.34% to 65.41%, while those identified as Black increased slightly from 28.47% to 29.82%. Those identifying as Hispanic saw a significant increase from 1.24% to 2.06%. There were also minor increases in the percentages of individuals who identify as Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native. Additionally, there was an increase of 44.20% in the number of individuals who identify with two or more races.

20002010Change
White68.34%65.41%-4.29%
Black28.47%29.82%4.74%
Hispanic1.24%2.06%66.13%
Two or More Races1.38%1.99%44.2%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.3%0.36%20%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.27%0.35%29.63%

Butts ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Butts is British & Irish, which comprises 49.9% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (26.1%) and Scandinavian (3.6%). Additional ancestries include Nigerian, Eastern European, Italian, Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean, and Spanish & Portuguese.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
British & Irish49.9%
French & German26.1%
Scandinavian3.6%
Other20.4%
Butts

Possible origins of the surname Butts

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Butts have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Greater London, United Kingdom84.50%
Merseyside, United Kingdom84.20%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom84.20%
Glasgow City, United Kingdom84.20%
West Midlands, United Kingdom83.90%

What Butts haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Butts is R-M405, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-M405 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include I-Z58 and R-CTS241, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Mathias, Forrest, Janssen, Hamm, De Vries, Warner, Bull, Dodd, Croft, Jorgensen.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Butts surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

buttsPaternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to King Louis XVI

The rule of France by men of the House of Bourbon began with King Henri IV in 1589 C.E. and continued until the beheading of his direct paternal descendant King Louis XVI in 1793. Several years ago, researchers analyzed a mummified head and a blood-soaked cloth that they believed might belong to the two kings, and concluded that the royal paternal line belonged to haplogroup G. In a more recent study, however, a different set of researchers tested three living men who are direct descendants of the Bourbon kings. Their efforts revealed that the male lineage of the House of Bourbon is actually a branch of haplogroup R-M405.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to the nomadic Tuareg of the Sahara

Though haplogroup H1 rarely reaches high frequencies beyond western Europe, over 60% of eastern Tuareg in Libya belong to haplogroup H1. The Tuareg call themselves the Imazghan, meaning “free people.” They are an isolated, semi-nomadic people who inhabit the West-Central Sahara and are known today for a distinctive dark blue turban worn by the men, and for their long history as gatekeepers of the desert.How did women carrying H1 make it all the way from western Europe to this isolated community? They likely migrated from Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar into Morocco after the Last Ice Age, where they were assimilated into the Berbers of the Mediterranean coast. Then, about 5,000 years ago, the Sahara shifted from a period of relative habitable conditions to its dramatically arid desert environment. This shift may have caused migrations throughout the Sahara, prompting the ancient Tuaregs to meet and mingle with the Berbers, bringing H1 lineages into their population.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Butts have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Butts

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Butts" Surname 46.4%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Butts

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Butts" Surname 29.0%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Butts

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Butts" Surname 27.3%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Butts

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Butts" Surname 15.5%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Butts?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Butts are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

British & Irish 62.1%

23andMe Users 57.2%