Explore the Family Name Nephew

The meaning of Nephew

English: relationship name from Middle English nevew, nefew ‘nephew’ (Old French neveu). Compare Neve 1.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Nephew saw a slight change in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, the surname was ranked 20,270th in terms of popularity, but by 2010 it had dropped slightly to 21,288th, marking a decline of 5.02%. However, despite this drop in rank, the actual count of individuals bearing the Nephew surname increased marginally from 1,221 in 2000 to 1,231 in 2010, indicating a growth of 0.82%. The proportion per 100,000 people also decreased by 6.67%, going from 0.45 in 2000 to 0.42 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#20,270	#21,288	-5.02%
Count	1,221	1,231	0.82%
Proportion per 100k	0.45	0.42	-6.67%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Nephew

The ethnic identity associated with the Nephew surname also witnessed changes between 2000 and 2010 according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. In terms of ethnicity, the largest group was the White population, which represented 72.89% in 2000, increasing slightly to 73.92% in 2010. The second largest group was the American Indian and Alaskan Native community, representing 13.51% in 2000 but declining to 12.27% in 2010. The Black community increased its representation from 8.03% to 8.53% during the same period. Those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic saw declines in their percentages while those identifying with two or more races experienced a slight increase.

	2000	2010	Change
White	72.89%	73.92%	1.41%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	13.51%	12.27%	-9.18%
Black	8.03%	8.53%	6.23%
Two or More Races	2.95%	3.01%	2.03%
Hispanic	1.72%	1.54%	-10.47%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.9%	0.73%	-18.89%