Explore the Family Name Spinney
The meaning of Spinney
English: from Middle English spyn(n)eye ‘spinney’ i.e. a small patch of woodland, clump of trees (Old French espinei ‘place where thorn trees grow’). The surname may be topographic, for someone who lived by a thicket or small copse, or habitational, from a place so named, such as Spinney Abbey in Wicken (Cambridgeshire).
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Spinney in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Spinney saw a slight decrease in popularity between 2000 and 2010. The rank of the surname fell from 15,433 in 2000 to 17,135 in 2010, marking an 11.03% decrease. Correspondingly, the count of people with this surname also dropped by 5.11%, with 1,743 people in 2000 declining to 1,654 by 2010. This shift is further reflected in the proportion per 100k, which slipped from 0.65 to 0.56, indicating a 13.85% reduction.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #15,433 | #17,135 | -11.03% |
| Count | 1,743 | 1,654 | -5.11% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.65 | 0.56 | -13.85% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Spinney
The ethnicity breakdown for the Spinney surname reveals some interesting shifts between 2000 and 2010, as shown in the Decennial U.S. Census data. In both years, the majority identified as White, with a minor decrease from 94.66% in 2000 to 94.20% in 2010. Notably, the percentage of those identifying as Hispanic rose by 38.89%, although it remained a small proportion of the total at 1.75%. The proportion of individuals reporting two or more ethnic identities also increased by 27.71%, reaching 2.12% in 2010. Conversely, the proportions of people identifying as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native were suppressed in the 2010 report, while the Asian/Pacific Islander category remained steady at 1.15%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 94.66% | 94.2% | -0.49% |
| Two or More Races | 1.66% | 2.12% | 27.71% |
| Hispanic | 1.26% | 1.75% | 38.89% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 1.15% | 1.15% | 0% |
| Black | 0.98% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.29% | 0% | 0% |