2000
#13,871
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,998
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.74
Rare Last name
Alloway
A Scottish locational surname derived from a place near Ayr, meaning "rocky plain" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,210 Americans carry the last name Alloway. That puts it at #14,783 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 155,092 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Alloway 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 Alloway with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 155,092
Census rank
#14,783
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,927 bearers of the surname Alloway in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14783rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Alloway, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and Two or More Races (5.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Alloway
The surname Alloway originates from Scotland, deriving its name from the village of Alloway in Ayrshire. The name is believed to have emerged in the 12th century, with the earliest recorded spelling being "Aloway" in the 13th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "alu" meaning "alder tree" and "wic" meaning "dwelling" or "village", indicating that the name referred to a settlement near an alder tree grove.
One of the earliest known references to the name Alloway can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish landowners and nobles who pledged allegiance to King Edward I of England. The name is listed as "John de Aloway", suggesting that the family held land or property in the area.
In the 15th century, the name appears in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, with a "Thomas Alloway" mentioned as a tenant farmer in the year 1456. This record provides insight into the social status and occupation of some early bearers of the name.
Alloway is also closely associated with the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns, who was born in 1759 in the village of Alloway. His poem "Tam o' Shanter" is set in the area and mentions the old Alloway Kirk and the nearby Brig o' Doon, immortalizing the name in literary history.
Notable individuals with the surname Alloway include:
1. Sir William Alloway (c. 1505-1573), a Scottish landowner and Member of Parliament during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots.
2. Robert Alloway (1597-1666), a Scottish minister and author of religious texts.
3. John Alloway (1670-1732), a Scottish merchant and co-founder of the Company of Merchants of the City of Edinburgh.
4. William Alloway (1776-1846), a Scottish-born farmer and early settler in Upper Canada (modern-day Ontario, Canada).
5. Mary Alloway Wilbur (1828-1911), an American educator and advocate for women's rights, born in New York.
While the surname Alloway is not as common today, its rich history and connections to Scottish literature and culture make it a distinctive and intriguing name with deep roots in the region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alloway
Among Census respondents with the surname Alloway, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and Two or More Races (5.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Alloway 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 Alloway surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.0% · 1,541
- Black or African American6.7% · 129
- Two or more races5.7% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 79
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.1% · 59
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Alloway
Alloway 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
#14,286
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,096
+98 bearers (+4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 415 places
2020
#14,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,927
-169 bearers (-8.1%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Down 497 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,871 | 1,998 | 0.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,286 | 2,096 | 0.71 | +98 bearers (+4.9%) | Down 415 places |
| 2020 | #14,783 | 1,927 | 0.64 | -169 bearers (-8.1%) | Down 497 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 Alloway 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 | #14,286 | #14,783 | -3.5% |
| Count | 2,096 | 1,927 | -8.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.71 | 0.64 | -9.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Alloway bearers went from 2,096 to 1,927 (-8.1% change). The surname moved down 497 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,286 to #14,783.
FAQ
Alloway surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Alloway?
Name Census estimates that about 2,210 living Americans carry the surname Alloway. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 155,092 residents.
How common is Alloway?
Alloway ranks #14,783 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,927 people with the surname Alloway. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,210), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.64 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Alloway.
Has Alloway become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Alloway went from 2,096 recorded bearers to 1,927. That is a decrease of 169 (-8.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,286 to #14,783.
What does the Census say about the background of Alloway?
Among Census respondents with the surname Alloway, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and Two or More Races (5.7%). 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 Alloway in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.0% (1,541 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Alloway appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.0%), Black (6.7%), Two or More Races (5.7%). 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 Alloway (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 Alloway mean?
A Scottish locational surname derived from a place near Ayr, meaning "rocky plain" 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 Alloway (0.64 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 have the last name Alloway?
Want to know how common the surname Alloway is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.