The NAPIER surname in the USA

Frequency Comparisons
	Total	Rank	Frequency %	Per million people
United States
United States (Current snapshot)	18,726	1755	0.007	69
United States (1880 census)	1,973	3012	0.004	39
Change since 1880	+16753	+1257	+0.003	+30
Other Countries
Australia	1,171	1411	0.007	72
United Kingdom	3,244	1928	0.007	71

Top States for NAPIER by Total
State	Total	Rank in State	Frequency %	Per million people
Kentucky	3,427	135	0.085	848
Ohio	2,187	599	0.019	193
Indiana	1,128	646	0.019	186
Florida	1,068	2030	0.007	67
Virginia	909	1058	0.013	128
Top States for NAPIER by Frequency
State	Total	Rank in State	Frequency %	Per million people
Kentucky	3,427	135	0.085	848
West Virginia	848	310	0.047	469
Ohio	2,187	599	0.019	193
Indiana	1,128	646	0.019	186
Tennessee	881	1052	0.015	155

Notes

Total is the total number of people with that surname.
Rank is the position in the list of names ordered by total (eg, a rank of 1 means that it's the most common name, and a rank of 10 means it's the tenth most common, etc).
Frequency is the percentage of people with that surname.
Per million people is the number of people with that surname per million of the population.

'A figure of zero indicates that we don't have data for this name (usually because it's quite uncommon and our stats don't go down that far). It doesn't mean that there's no-one with that name at all!

For less common surnames, the figures get progressively less reliable the fewer holders of that name there are. This data is aggregated from several public lists, and some stats are interpolated from known values. The margin of error is well over 100% at the rarest end of the table!

For less common surnames, the frequency and "per million" values may be 0 even though there are people with that name. That's because they represent less than one in a million of the population, which ends up as 0 after rounding.

It's possible for a surname to gain in rank and/or total while being less common per million people (or vice versa) as there are now more surnames in the USA as a result of immigration. In mathematical terms, the tail has got longer, with a far larger number of less common surnames.

Figures for top states show firstly the states where most people called NAPIER live. This obviously tends to be biased towards the most populous states. The second set of figures show where people called NAPIER represent the biggest proportion of the population. So, in this case, there are more people called NAPIER in Kentucky than any other state, but you are more likely to find a NAPIER by picking someone at random in Kentucky than anywhere else.

Classification and Origin of NAPIER

Region of origin: British Isles

Country of origin: England

Language of origin: English

Ethnic origin: English

Religious origin: Christian

Name derivation: Occupational Name

Data for religion and/or language relates to the culture in which the NAPIER surname originated. It does not necessarily have any correlation with the language spoken, or religion practised, by the majority of current American citizens with that name.

Data for ethnic origin relates to the region and country in which the NAPIER surname originated. It does not necessarily have any correlation with the ethnicity of the majority of current American citizens with that name.

Ethnic distribution of NAPIER in the USA

Classification	Total	Percent
Mixed Race	294	1.57
White (Hispanic)	234	1.25
Native American/Alaskan	92	0.49
Asian/Pacific	64	0.34
White (Caucasian)	16,091	85.93
Black/African American	1,951	10.42

Ethnic distribution data shows the number and percentage of people with the NAPIER surname who reported their ethnic background as being in these broad categories in the most recent national census.

Meaning of NAPIER in historical publications

It is said that Donald, a son of the Earl of Lennox, for his bravery in battle, had his name changed by the king to Napier. After the battle, as the manner is, every one advancing and setting forth his own acts, the king said unto them, "Ye have all done valiantly, but there is one among you who hath 'Na Pier,'" and the king gave him lands in Fife and Goffurd. The name came, however, from taking charge of the king's napery or linen at the coronation of English kings, an office held by William De Hastings, in the time of Henry I.

Arthur, William (1857) An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. New York: Sheldon, Blakeman. Public Domain.

NAPIER. An officer in the king's bouseliold — the same as Naper, which see, A Scottish legeud, however, assigns a widely different origin. In a great battle between the Scots and some eaemj', whose nation is not specified, the former were on the point of losing the day, when one Donald, sou of the then Earl of Lennox, seized a standard, and rallied the retreating soldiers. This act of prowess changed the positions of the combatants, and resulted in the complete triumph of the Scots. The king on hearing of Donald's bravery, declared that he had Na pier — 710 equal; commanded him to assume those words as a surname ; and gave him lands in Fife, and the lands of Goffurdor Goosford. This 'mighty pretty story,' though evidently invented to explain the name, was certified to the heralds under the hand and seal of Sir Archibald Napier of Merchistoun, in 1 625. It is proper, however, to remark, that the Napiers sprang from the house of Lennox, and that their early members wrote themselves Lenox alias Napier; and it is no derogation of the dignity of this illustrious family to suppose that an earl's son, their ancestor, should have held the ofHce of Napier in the royal household.

Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.

Similar names to NAPIER

The following names have similar spellings or pronunciations as NAPIER.

This does not necessarily imply a direct relationship between the names, but may indicate names that could be mistaken for this one when written down or misheard.