Explore the Family Name Virgil
The meaning of Virgil
1. English, West Indian (Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda, Turks and Caicos), and Spanish: from the personal name Virgil, from Latin Virgilius, originally Vergilius, perhaps connected in some way with the name Vergiliae ‘the Pleiades’. The name is famous in particular as that of the Latin poet Publius Vergilius Maro (70–19 BC), author of the Aeneid. Virgil was much admired in medieval Europe; there were attempts to make him into an honorary Christian (even though he actually lived before the time of Christ), and Dante made him his guide through the Inferno and Purgatorio, a model of classical moderation and reason. This was also the name of an early Christian saint, a 6th-century bishop of Arles. This surname is very rare in Britain. 2. French: rare variant, and an Americanized form, of Virgile, a cognate of 1 above.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Virgil in the United States?
Based on Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Virgil saw a slight decrease in rank from 2000 to 2010, moving from 11,349th most popular to 11,466th. However, despite this drop in ranking, the actual count of individuals with the Virgil surname increased by 7.64%, from 2,551 to 2,746 people. The proportion of people named Virgil per 100,000 also experienced a slight dip, reducing by 2.11%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #11,349 | #11,466 | -1.03% |
| Count | 2,551 | 2,746 | 7.64% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.95 | 0.93 | -2.11% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Virgil
In terms of ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals some interesting shifts between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of Virgils identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and those identifying as having two or more races increased by 45.45% and 25.00% respectively. The largest ethnic group within the Virgil surname remained those who identify as Black, at 48.69% in 2010, showing a minor increase of 0.16% from the 2000 Census. Those identifying as White and Hispanic constituted 35.00% and 12.71% respectively, with the former showing a small decrease of 3.58% while the latter saw a moderate growth of 5.92%. Finally, those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native decreased significantly by 36.51%, representing the most drastic change in ethnicity for the Virgil surname during this period.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 48.61% | 48.69% | 0.16% |
| White | 36.3% | 35% | -3.58% |
| Hispanic | 12% | 12.71% | 5.92% |
| Two or More Races | 1.92% | 2.4% | 25% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.55% | 0.8% | 45.45% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.63% | 0.4% | -36.51% |