Explore the Family Name Precious

The meaning of Precious

English (Yorkshire and East Anglia): from the Middle English personal name, both female and male, Precious (from Latin preciosa, preciosus ‘of great value’). The principal Yorkshire family of this name had its seat at Marton cum Grafton, near Boroughbridge.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname 'Precious' witnessed a slight surge in popularity from 2000 to 2010. The rank of this surname improved by approximately 3.73%, moving up from 117,538th place in 2000 to 113,155th place in 2010. This increment is mirrored in the count of individuals bearing the surname, which also rose by 13.14% from 137 in 2000 to 155 in 2010. However, the proportion per 100,000 people remained unchanged during this decade, maintaining at 0.05.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#117,538	#113,155	3.73%
Count	137	155	13.14%
Proportion per 100k	0.05	0.05	0%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Precious

The ethnic identity associated with the surname 'Precious' has seen some shifts over the decade from 2000 to 2010 according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. Individuals identifying as White dropped slightly by 7.92%, from 87.59% to 80.65%. Meanwhile, those identifying as Black saw an increase of 47.34% from 6.57% to 9.68%. There was also a minor increase in the Hispanic ethnicity from 5.84% to 6.45%. No changes were recorded for individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander or as Two or more races or as American Indian and Alaskan Native, with these categories all remaining at 0% in both years.

	2000	2010	Change
White	87.59%	80.65%	-7.92%
Black	6.57%	9.68%	47.34%
Hispanic	5.84%	6.45%	10.45%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%