2000
#13,731
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,024
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.75
Rare Last name
Amon
Derived from Hebrew, meaning "the hidden one" or "the builder," and associated with the Egyptian god Amun.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,530 Americans carry the last name Amon. That puts it at #13,254 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 135,476 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Amon 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 Amon with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 135,476
Census rank
#13,254
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,206 bearers of the surname Amon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13254th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Amon, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (9.8%) and Hispanic (7.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Amon
The surname AMON has its origins in the French language and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Normandy, where it was likely derived from the Old French word "amon," meaning "beloved" or "friend." The name may also have evolved from the Germanic personal name "Amo," which means "industrious" or "hardworking."
Historical records suggest that the AMON surname first appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The earliest documented use of the name is found in the records of Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte in Normandy, where a man named Raoul Amon was mentioned in a charter from the year 1195.
One of the earliest known bearers of the AMON surname was Sir John Amon, a renowned English knight who fought in the Wars of the Roses during the 15th century. He was born around 1420 in Wiltshire and served under the House of York. Another notable figure was Guillaume Amon, a French merchant and explorer who was among the first Europeans to establish trade relations with the Kingdom of Benin in West Africa in the late 15th century.
In the 16th century, the AMON surname can be found in various records across Europe. Jean Amon, a French Protestant clergyman, was born in Bordeaux in 1535 and played a significant role in the French Reformation. In England, Thomas Amon, born in 1560 in Oxfordshire, was a prominent landowner and member of the gentry.
During the 17th century, the AMON surname gained prominence in the Netherlands. Cornelis Amon, born in Amsterdam in 1623, was a renowned Dutch painter and engraver known for his landscape and maritime paintings. In the same century, Josiah Amon, born in 1647 in Gloucestershire, England, was a prominent Quaker preacher and author who wrote extensively on religious topics.
The AMON surname has also been associated with various place names throughout history. For instance, the village of Amon in Normandy, France, is believed to have derived its name from the surname. Similarly, the town of Amonbury in Shropshire, England, was formerly known as "Amon's Bury," suggesting a connection to the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Amon
Among Census respondents with the surname Amon, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (9.8%) and Hispanic (7.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Amon 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 Amon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.1% · 1,613
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.8% · 217
- Hispanic or Latino7.2% · 158
- Black or African American6.6% · 146
- Two or more races3.1% · 69
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Amon
Amon 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
#13,616
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,225
+201 bearers (+9.9%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Up 115 places
2020
#13,254
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,206
-19 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Up 362 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,731 | 2,024 | 0.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,616 | 2,225 | 0.75 | +201 bearers (+9.9%) | Up 115 places |
| 2020 | #13,254 | 2,206 | 0.74 | -19 bearers (-0.9%) | Up 362 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 Amon 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 | #13,616 | #13,254 | 2.7% |
| Count | 2,225 | 2,206 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.75 | 0.74 | -1.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Amon bearers went from 2,225 to 2,206 (-0.9% change). The surname moved up 362 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,616 to #13,254.
FAQ
Amon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Amon?
Name Census estimates that about 2,530 living Americans carry the surname Amon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 135,476 residents.
How common is Amon?
Amon ranks #13,254 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.74 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 2,206 people with the surname Amon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,530), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.74 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 Amon.
Has Amon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Amon went from 2,225 recorded bearers to 2,206. That is a decrease of 19 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,616 to #13,254.
What does the Census say about the background of Amon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Amon, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (9.8%) and Hispanic (7.2%). 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 Amon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.1% (1,613 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Amon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (9.8%), Hispanic (7.2%). 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 Amon (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 Amon mean?
Derived from Hebrew, meaning "the hidden one" or "the builder," and associated with the Egyptian god Amun. 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 Amon (0.74 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 Amon?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Amon at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.