How common is the surname Handy?

14,537 people in the United States had the surname Handy in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 21,239 Americans. It ranked 2,482nd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Handy?

W. C. Handy, American blues composer and musician (1873–1958), followed by James Handy.

Where is the surname Handy most common?

Wikidata records people named Handy in the United States.

Is the surname Handy getting more or less common?

More common. 13,655 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 14,537 in 2010, up 6.5%.

Is Handy also a first name?

Yes. Handy is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Handy

A nickname surname, carried by 14,537 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex H530

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Handy is more common than 98.5% of them.

Origin

Originating as a nickname for a handy person.

Handy is a nickname surname: from a description or nickname of an ancestor.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 14,537 people named Handy in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 21,239 Americans. That is up 6.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 13,655.

#2,482

rank among US surnames

14,537

people in 2010

4.9

per 100,000 Americans

+6.5%

change since 2000 (was #2,429)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,473	Kahn	14,584	21,170
#2,474	Barth	14,579	21,177
#2,475	Dove	14,560	21,205
#2,477	Noriega	14,559	21,207
#2,478	Cloud	14,555	21,212
#2,479	Stearns	14,554	21,214
#2,480	Nagel	14,545	21,227

Who is named Handy

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

55% of people named Handy identified as white (not Hispanic), 36% as Black (not Hispanic) and 4.1% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 55%
Black (not Hispanic) 36%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 4.1%
Two or more races 2.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Handys

4 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

W. C. Handy
American blues composer and musician (1873–1958)
James Handy
American actor (1945–2026)
Jam Handy
American swimmer and entrepreneur (1886–1983)
John Handy
American jazz musician, born 1933

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Handy

Handy has the Soundex code H530, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code H530.

Questions

Where does the surname Handy come from?: Originating as a nickname for a handy person.
How common is the surname Handy?: 14,537 people in the United States had the surname Handy in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 21,239 Americans. It ranked 2,482nd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Handy?: In the 2010 Census, 55% of people named Handy identified as white (not Hispanic), and 36% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Handy?: W. C. Handy, American blues composer and musician (1873–1958), followed by James Handy.
Where is the surname Handy most common?: Wikidata records people named Handy in the United States.
What type of surname is Handy?: Handy is a nickname surname, from a description or nickname of an ancestor.
Is the surname Handy getting more or less common?: More common. 13,655 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 14,537 in 2010, up 6.5%.
Is Handy also a first name?: Yes. Handy is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.