Explore the Family Name York
The meaning of York
1. English: habitational name from the city of York in northern England. The surname is now widespread throughout England. Originally, the city bore the Latin name Eburacum, which is probably from a Brittonic name meaning ‘yew-tree place’. This was altered by folk etymology to Old English Eoforwīc (from the elements eofor ‘wild boar’ + wīc ‘specialized farmstead’). This name was taken over by Scandinavian settlers, who altered it back to opacity in the form Jórvík or Jórk (English York, which became finally settled as the placename in the 13th century). The surname has also been adopted by Jews as an Americanized form of various like-sounding Jewish surnames. 2. In some cases also an American shortened and altered form of the East Slavic patronymic Yurkovich or its Croatian, Slovak, or Slovenian variants. Compare Yurk.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name York in the United States?
According to the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname York has seen some change over a decade. In 2000, it ranked 596th in terms of commonality and saw a slight decline to 642nd place by 2010, marking a decrease by 7.72%. Despite this dip in rank, the actual count of people bearing the surname York increased from 51,334 in 2000 to 53,059 in 2010, reflecting a rise of 3.36%. The proportion per 100k also dropped by 5.47%, coming down from 19.03 to 17.99.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #596 | #642 | -7.72% |
| Count | 51,334 | 53,059 | 3.36% |
| Proportion per 100k | 19.03 | 17.99 | -5.47% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name York
The Decennial U.S. Census data also provides valuable insight into the ethnic identity associated with the surname York. People identifying as White remained the majority holders of the York surname, although their percentage decreased from 87.72% in 2000 to 85.81% in 2010. On the other hand, the Asian/Pacific Islander community saw a significant increase in representation, jumping by 50% from 0.60% to 0.90%. The percentage of those with Hispanic ethnicity also rose from 1.61% to 2.28%. There was a slight increase in the Black community (from 7.69% to 8.04%) and American Indian and Alaskan Native community (from 0.93% to 1.00%). The group identifying with two or more races also grew from 1.45% to 1.97%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 87.72% | 85.81% | -2.18% |
| Black | 7.69% | 8.04% | 4.55% |
| Hispanic | 1.61% | 2.28% | 41.61% |
| Two or More Races | 1.45% | 1.97% | 35.86% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.93% | 1% | 7.53% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.6% | 0.9% | 50% |
York 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 York is British & Irish, which comprises 54.4% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (23.2%) and Eastern European (4.9%). Additional ancestries include Scandinavian, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, Ashkenazi Jewish, and Indigenous American.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 54.4% |
| French & German | 23.2% |
| Eastern European | 4.9% |
| Other | 17.5% |
Possible origins of the surname York
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 York have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 86.30% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 86.20% |
| West Midlands, United Kingdom | 86.10% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 86.10% |
| Tyne And Wear, United Kingdom | 85.90% |
What York 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 York is I-Y6900, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup I-Y6900 is descended from haplogroup I-M170. Other common haplogroups include R-CTS241 and I-L22, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Goodall, Goff, Benson, Giles, Nelson, Mathis, Matthews, King, Beck, Morton.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with York surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins I-M170
Your paternal lineage may be linked to Alexander Hamilton
Early in the morning on July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr (then Vice President of the United States) and Alexander Hamilton (founder of the U.S. Treasury) dueled on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. This marked the culmination of a bitter personal and political rivalry between the two men. Alexander Hamilton died as a result of the duel, but his intellectual legacy survives in the founding documents of the nation he helped build. A piece of his genetic legacy survives as well: in the 21st century, genealogists documented the paternal haplogroups of dozens of Hamilton's living descendants and concluded that the Founding Father's paternal haplogroup was a branch of I-DF29.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname York 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
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"York" Surname 42.6%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"York" Surname 27.1%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"York" Surname 25.9%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"York" Surname 20.0%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name York?
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 York are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition