2000
#10,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,678
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.99
Rare Last name
Appling
Derived from a place name meaning "the settlement of Æppa's people" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,063 Americans carry the last name Appling. That puts it at #11,302 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.89 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 111,902 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Appling 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
3.1K
1 in 111,902
Census rank
#11,302
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,671 bearers of the surname Appling in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.89 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11302nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Appling, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.6%. The next largest groups are Black (38.9%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Appling
The surname Appling is of English origin and dates back to the late 12th century. It is thought to be a locational name, derived from the place name Appledore, which comes from the Old English words "æppel" meaning apple and "dor" meaning valley or enclosed place. This suggests that the name was initially given to someone who lived near an apple orchard or in an area known for its apple cultivation.
The earliest recorded instance of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1195, where it appears as "de Appeldor". Over time, the spelling evolved to Appling, Appline, and various other variations.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are several entries for places called Appledore, including in Kent, Devon, and Herefordshire. These entries may have been the original locations from which the Appling surname derived.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Appling was Sir Thomas Appling (c. 1390 - 1460), a member of the English gentry and a supporter of the House of Lancaster during the Wars of the Roses.
In the 16th century, the Appling family established themselves in the county of Shropshire, where they held land and property. Notable members from this period include Richard Appling (1525 - 1598), a wealthy landowner and member of the local gentry.
During the English Civil War in the 17th century, Captain John Appling (1620 - 1678) fought for the Parliamentarian forces and was later granted lands in Ireland as part of the Cromwellian Settlement.
In the 18th century, the Appling family had branches in both England and the American colonies. One notable figure was Colonel Daniel Appling (1742 - 1818), an American Revolutionary War officer who served under General Francis Marion and was known as the "Rifle Maker of the Revolution".
Another prominent Appling was Henry Appling (1767 - 1833), a pioneer and military officer who served in the War of 1812 and later became a member of the Georgia State Legislature. The city of Appling, Georgia, is named in his honor.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Appling
Among Census respondents with the surname Appling, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.6%. The next largest groups are Black (38.9%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Appling 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 Appling surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.6% · 1,378
- Black or African American38.9% · 1,039
- Two or more races5.2% · 138
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 94
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Appling
Appling 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
#11,343
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,781
+103 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 436 places
2020
#11,302
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,671
-110 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Up 41 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,907 | 2,678 | 0.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,343 | 2,781 | 0.94 | +103 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 436 places |
| 2020 | #11,302 | 2,671 | 0.89 | -110 bearers (-4.0%) | Up 41 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 Appling 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 | #11,343 | #11,302 | 0.4% |
| Count | 2,781 | 2,671 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.94 | 0.89 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Appling bearers went from 2,781 to 2,671 (-4.0% change). The surname moved up 41 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,343 to #11,302.
FAQ
Appling surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Appling?
Name Census estimates that about 3,063 living Americans carry the surname Appling. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 111,902 residents.
How common is Appling?
Appling ranks #11,302 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.89 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 2,671 people with the surname Appling. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,063), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.89 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.89 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 Appling.
Has Appling become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Appling went from 2,781 recorded bearers to 2,671. That is a decrease of 110 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,343 to #11,302.
What does the Census say about the background of Appling?
Among Census respondents with the surname Appling, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.6%. The next largest groups are Black (38.9%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Appling in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.6% (1,378 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Appling appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (51.6%), Black (38.9%), Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Appling (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 Appling mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "the settlement of Æppa's people" 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 Appling (0.89 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 Appling?
Want to know how common the surname Appling is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.