2000
#6,674
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,666
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.73
Rare Last name
Acton
Derived from a place name meaning "oak tree town" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,294 Americans carry the last name Acton. That puts it at #7,013 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.54 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 64,744 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Acton 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 Acton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.3K
1 in 64,744
Census rank
#7,013
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,617 bearers of the surname Acton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.54 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7013th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Acton, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Acton
The surname Acton derives from several Old English place names, such as Acton in Middlesex, Acton in Suffolk, and Acton in Cheshire. These place names are believed to have originated from the Old English words "ac" meaning oak and "tun" meaning a farm or settlement.
The name Acton can be traced back to the 11th century and is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which lists several individuals with this surname. One of the earliest recorded Actons was Walter de Acton, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Warwickshire in 1195.
During the medieval period, the Acton family held lands and estates in various parts of England, including Shropshire, Staffordshire, and Worcestershire. Notable members of the Acton family from this era include Sir Roger Acton, who fought in the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403, and Sir Walter Acton, who was a Member of Parliament for Shropshire in 1472.
In the 16th century, the Acton family gained prominence through their involvement in the English Reformation. Sir Richard Acton (c.1525-1587) was a staunch Catholic and a member of the Privy Council under Queen Mary I. His son, Sir Walter Acton (c.1550-1610), converted to Protestantism and served as a Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Another notable figure was John Acton (1736-1811), a British naval officer who served in the American Revolutionary War and later became a Member of Parliament. He is often referred to as Sir John Acton, although he was not officially knighted.
John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton (1834-1902), was a prominent English Catholic historian, philosopher, and politician. He is best known for his influential study of the philosophy of history and his famous quote: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Harry Acton (1766-1835) was an English cricketer who played for the famous Hambledon Club and is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of the 18th century.
The name Acton has also been associated with several place names in England, such as Acton in Cheshire, Acton in Suffolk, and Acton in Middlesex, which later became part of London.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Acton
Among Census respondents with the surname Acton, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Acton 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 Acton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.5% · 4,180
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 148
- Two or more races3.2% · 148
- Black or African American1.6% · 74
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 31
Timeline
Historical Census data for Acton
Acton 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
#6,874
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,892
+226 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 1.66
Rank movement Down 200 places
2020
#7,013
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,617
-275 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 1.54
Rank movement Down 139 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,674 | 4,666 | 1.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,874 | 4,892 | 1.66 | +226 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 200 places |
| 2020 | #7,013 | 4,617 | 1.54 | -275 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 139 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 Acton 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 | #6,874 | #7,013 | -2.0% |
| Count | 4,892 | 4,617 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.66 | 1.54 | -6.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Acton bearers went from 4,892 to 4,617 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 139 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,874 to #7,013.
FAQ
Acton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Acton?
Name Census estimates that about 5,294 living Americans carry the surname Acton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 64,744 residents.
How common is Acton?
Acton ranks #7,013 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.54 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,617 people with the surname Acton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,294), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.54 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.54 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Acton.
Has Acton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Acton went from 4,892 recorded bearers to 4,617. That is a decrease of 275 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,874 to #7,013.
What does the Census say about the background of Acton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Acton, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Acton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (4,180 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Acton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.5%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Acton (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 Acton mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "oak tree town" in Old English. 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 Acton (1.54 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 common is the surname Acton?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Acton, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.