Explore the Family Name Yule
The meaning of Yule
Scottish: 1. from the northern Middle English personal name Yol, (Old Norse Iól, Ióli, Old Danish Iuli, Old Swedish Iule, a short form of names in Iól-, Iúl-, which is thought to derive from Old Norse ighul ‘sea urchin’). In Scotland most of the earliest bearers of the surname are those of burgesses, whose families may have originated in northern England. The name was identical in pronunciation and spelling with (and therefore probably confused with) the Middle English name for Christmas; see 2 below. Both names underwent the phonetic change of Middle English /o:/ to early Modern English and Older Scots /u:/, whence the common modern spelling Yule. 2. perhaps also a nickname from Older Scots ʒule ‘Yule, Christmas’ (Old English geōl, Old Norse jól), given to one born on Christmas Day or with some other connection with that time of year. This was originally the name of a pagan midwinter festival, which was later appropriated by the Christian Church for celebration of the birth of Christ. However, there is no clear evidence of this origin for the surname.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Yule in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Yule has seen a decrease between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Yule was ranked 21,540th, but by 2010 it had dropped to 24,838th, a change of -15.31%. The number of people carrying the Yule surname also decreased from 1,130 in 2000 to 1,002 in 2010, representing an -11.33% change. The proportion of the Yule surname per 100,000 people fell by 19.05% during the same time period.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #21,540 | #24,838 | -15.31% |
| Count | 1,130 | 1,002 | -11.33% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.42 | 0.34 | -19.05% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Yule
The ethnic identity associated with the surname Yule changed significantly from 2000 to 2010 according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. The percentage of individuals with this surname identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and two or more races increased dramatically, by 150.00% and 145.28%, respectively. The majority of the people with the Yule surname identified as White, despite a slight decrease from 95.49% in 2000 to 94.21% in 2010. The representation of Yules identifying as Hispanic saw a modest increase of 18.28%. However, there were no individuals identifying as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native within the Yule surname group in the 2010 census, a departure from the previous census data in 2000.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 95.49% | 94.21% | -1.34% |
| Hispanic | 1.86% | 2.2% | 18.28% |
| Two or More Races | 0.53% | 1.3% | 145.28% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.44% | 1.1% | 150% |
| Black | 1.15% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.53% | 0% | 0% |