2000
#588
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 51,620
First available Census row
Per 100,000 19.14
Uncommon Last name
Abbott
An English occupational surname referring to someone who was an abbot or worked in an abbey.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 57,506 Americans carry the last name Abbott. That puts it at #661 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 16.78 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,960 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Abbott surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Abbott with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
58K
1 in 5,960
Census rank
#661
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
16.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
50K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 50,148 bearers of the surname Abbott in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 16.78 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 661st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Abbott, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Abbott
The surname Abbott is of English origin, derived from the Anglo-Norman French word "abbot," meaning the head of a monastery or convent. The name first emerged in the 12th century, often referring to a person who worked or lived near an abbey or had some connection to a monastic establishment.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Abbott can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1190, where it appears as "Abbod." Similar spellings, such as "Abbot" and "Abbat," can be found in various medieval records throughout England.
The surname Abbott is also mentioned in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey commissioned by William the Conqueror to record the landholdings and properties in England after the Norman Conquest. This suggests that the name had already been established in England by the late 11th century.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was John Abbot, born around 1225 in Oxfordshire, England. He was a notable English theologian and philosopher who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1278 until his death in 1292.
Another prominent figure with the surname Abbott was George Abbott, born in 1562 in Shropshire, England. He was a distinguished writer and Church of England clergyman who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1611 to 1633.
Robert Abbott, born in 1588 in Buckinghamshire, England, was a Puritan minister and author who played a significant role in the early settlement of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 17th century.
In the 18th century, John Abbott, born in 1717 in Yorkshire, England, was a notable British painter and portrait artist who gained recognition for his works depicting members of the British aristocracy and gentry.
One of the most famous individuals with the surname Abbott was Sir John Abbott, born in 1821 in St. Andrews, Quebec, Canada. He was a Canadian statesman and the third Prime Minister of Canada, serving from 1891 to 1892.
The surname Abbott has been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Abbott's Bromley in Staffordshire, Abbott's Ann in Hampshire, and Abbott's Salford in Warwickshire, suggesting that the name may have originated from specific locations or settlements near abbeys or monasteries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Abbott
Among Census respondents with the surname Abbott, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Abbott bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Abbott surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.0% · 43,145
- Black or African American5.0% · 2,496
- Two or more races4.0% · 2,011
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 1,800
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 385
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 311
Timeline
Historical Census data for Abbott
Abbott appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#645
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 52,739
+1,119 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 17.88
Rank movement Down 57 places
2020
#661
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 50,148
-2,591 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 16.78
Rank movement Down 16 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #588 | 51,620 | 19.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #645 | 52,739 | 17.88 | +1,119 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 57 places |
| 2020 | #661 | 50,148 | 16.78 | -2,591 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 16 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Abbott surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #645 | #661 | -2.5% |
| Count | 52,739 | 50,148 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 17.88 | 16.78 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Abbott bearers went from 52,739 to 50,148 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 16 positions in the national ranking, going from #645 to #661.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Abbott
FAQ
Abbott surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Abbott?
Name Census estimates that about 57,506 living Americans carry the surname Abbott. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,960 residents.
How common is Abbott?
Abbott ranks #661 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 16.78 per 100,000 residents, which is about 17 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 50,148 people with the surname Abbott. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (57,506), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 16.78 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 16.78 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 17 of them to have the surname Abbott.
Has Abbott become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Abbott went from 52,739 recorded bearers to 50,148. That is a decrease of 2,591 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #645 to #661.
What does the Census say about the background of Abbott?
Among Census respondents with the surname Abbott, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Abbott in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.0% (43,145 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Abbott appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.0%), Black (5.0%), Two or More Races (4.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Abbott (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Abbott mean?
An English occupational surname referring to someone who was an abbot or worked in an abbey. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Abbott (16.78 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Abbott?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.