2000
#102,691
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 162
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Acox
Derived from the Old English ac, meaning "oak," and cox, referring to a rooster, translating to "oak rooster."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 166 Americans carry the last name Acox. That puts it at #124,450 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,064,785 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Acox 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.
Bearers in the US
166
1 in 2,064,785
Census rank
#124,450
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
145
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 145 bearers of the surname Acox in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 124450th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Acox, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.8%. The next largest groups are Black (28.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Acox
The surname Acox has its origins in the medieval English counties of Suffolk and Essex. The name is believed to derive from the Old English words "ac" meaning oak tree and "cocs" meaning a small stream or brook. This suggests the earliest bearers of the name lived near a small oak-lined stream or brook.
One of the earliest known records of the name appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk from 1327, where a Robert Acox is listed as a taxpayer. The spelling at this time was rendered as "Acokes". Over the following centuries, various spellings emerged such as Acokes, Acockes, Acocx, and eventually settling on the modern form of Acox.
In the 16th century, parish records show the Acox family was well-established in the Suffolk village of Bildeston. A notable member from this time was William Acox (c.1525-1592), who served as the village's constable and church warden.
The Acox name also has historical ties to the nearby town of Lavenham in Suffolk. The town's tax records from 1524 list a John Acox as a wealthy landowner and cloth merchant. It's likely his prosperity stemmed from the thriving wool trade that made Lavenham a prosperous medieval town.
Moving into the 17th century, the name spread further across East Anglia. One example is Thomas Acox (1603-1670), a farmer from the Norfolk village of Wreningham, whose will is recorded in the local archives.
By the 18th century, some Acox families had relocated to London. A prominent figure was Sir Richard Acox (1679-1744), a successful merchant and investor who served as Master of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers in 1731.
While concentrated in East Anglia, the surname could also be found elsewhere in England. Records show an Acox family residing in the Yorkshire town of Selby in the late 1700s. One member, Samuel Acox (1748-1823), was a respected solicitor and town clerk.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Acox
Among Census respondents with the surname Acox, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.8%. The next largest groups are Black (28.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Acox 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 Acox surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.8% · 94
- Black or African American28.3% · 41
- Two or more races4.1% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Acox
Acox 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
#111,426
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 158
-4 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 8,735 places
2020
#124,450
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 145
-13 bearers (-8.2%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 13,024 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #102,691 | 162 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #111,426 | 158 | 0.05 | -4 bearers (-2.5%) | Down 8,735 places |
| 2020 | #124,450 | 145 | 0.05 | -13 bearers (-8.2%) | Down 13,024 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 Acox 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 | #111,426 | #124,450 | -11.7% |
| Count | 158 | 145 | -8.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.05 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Acox bearers went from 158 to 145 (-8.2% change). The surname moved down 13,024 positions in the national ranking, going from #111,426 to #124,450.
FAQ
Acox surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Acox?
Name Census estimates that about 166 living Americans carry the surname Acox. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,064,785 residents.
How common is Acox?
Acox ranks #124,450 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 145 people with the surname Acox. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (166), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Acox.
Has Acox become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Acox went from 158 recorded bearers to 145. That is a decrease of 13 (-8.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #111,426 to #124,450.
What does the Census say about the background of Acox?
Among Census respondents with the surname Acox, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.8%. The next largest groups are Black (28.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Acox in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.8% (94 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Acox appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (64.8%), Black (28.3%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Acox (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 Acox mean?
Derived from the Old English ac, meaning "oak," and cox, referring to a rooster, translating to "oak rooster." 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 Acox (0.05 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 are called Acox?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Acox on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.