How common is the surname Napier?

19,182 people in the United States had the surname Napier in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 16,096 Americans. It ranked 1,872nd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Napier?

Charles Napier, American actor (1936–2011), followed by Shabazz Napier.

Where is the surname Napier most common?

Wikidata records people named Napier in the United States, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and New Zealand.

Is the surname Napier getting more or less common?

More common. 18,726 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 19,182 in 2010, up 2.4%.

Is Napier also a first name?

Yes. Napier 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 Napier

An occupational surname, carried by 19,182 people in the United States.

3 syllables Soundex N160

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Napier is more common than 98.8% of them.

Origin

See napery

Napier is an occupational surname: named after the work an ancestor did.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 19,182 people named Napier in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 16,096 Americans. That is up 2.4% since 2000, when the Census counted 18,726.

#1,872

rank among US surnames

19,182

people in 2010

6.5

per 100,000 Americans

+2.4%

change since 2000 (was #1,755)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,863	Hyatt	19,280	16,014
#1,864	Hanley	19,240	16,047
#1,865	Arriaga	19,236	16,050
#1,866	Engle	19,226	16,059
#1,867	Story	19,218	16,065
#1,868	Valentin	19,211	16,071
#1,869	Yost	19,210	16,072

Who is named Napier

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

84% of people named Napier identified as white (not Hispanic), 11% as Black (not Hispanic) and 1.9% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 84%
Black (not Hispanic) 11%
Two or more races 1.9%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 1.9%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Napiers

5 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Charles Napier
American actor (1936–2011)
Shabazz Napier
American basketball player, born 1991
Jessica Napier
Australian actress, born 1979
Francis Napier, 10th Lord Napier
British diplomat, 1819–1898
George Thomas Napier
British Army general (1784-1855)

Notable Napiers come mostly from the United States (2), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (2) and New Zealand (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Napier

Napier has the Soundex code N160, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code N160.

Questions

Where does the surname Napier come from?: See napery
How common is the surname Napier?: 19,182 people in the United States had the surname Napier in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 16,096 Americans. It ranked 1,872nd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Napier?: In the 2010 Census, 84% of people named Napier identified as white (not Hispanic), and 11% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Napier?: Charles Napier, American actor (1936–2011), followed by Shabazz Napier.
Where is the surname Napier most common?: Wikidata records people named Napier in the United States, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and New Zealand.
What type of surname is Napier?: Napier is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
Is the surname Napier getting more or less common?: More common. 18,726 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 19,182 in 2010, up 2.4%.
Is Napier also a first name?: Yes. Napier 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.