2000
#187
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 136,315
First available Census row
Per 100,000 50.53
Common Last name
Arnold
An English habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "eagle power" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 151,551 Americans carry the last name Arnold. That puts it at #214 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 44.22 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,262 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Arnold 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 Arnold with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
152K
1 in 2,262
Census rank
#214
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
44.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
132K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 132,160 bearers of the surname Arnold in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 44.22 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 214th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Arnold, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.3%. The next largest groups are Black (13.0%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Arnold
The surname ARNOLD has its origins in the ancient Germanic languages. It is derived from the Old German name Arnwald or Arnold, which is composed of the elements 'arn' meaning eagle and 'wald' meaning ruler or power. The name translates to 'ruler of the eagles' or 'one with the strength of an eagle'.
The name first appeared in historical records in the 8th century, with references to individuals bearing this surname in regions of modern-day Germany and the Low Countries. One of the earliest known records is in the Codex Aureus of Echternach, a 7th-century manuscript from the Benedictine abbey in Echternach, Luxembourg, which mentions an individual named Arnoldus.
In the 11th century, the ARNOLD surname is found in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of landowners commissioned by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest of England. This record lists several individuals with variations of the name, such as Arnoldus and Arnaldus, holding lands in various parts of England.
Notable historical figures bearing the ARNOLD surname include Arnold of Brescia (c. 1090-1155), an Italian scholar and political agitator who played a prominent role in the conflict between Pope Innocent II and the Roman commune. Another notable figure is Sir Nicholas Arnold (c. 1508-1580), an English courtier and Member of Parliament during the reign of Elizabeth I.
In the 13th century, the surname ARNOLD was associated with place names such as Arnoldston in Pembrokeshire, Wales, and Arnold in Nottinghamshire, England. These place names likely derived from individuals with the surname who held lands or settlements in those areas.
Other notable individuals with the ARNOLD surname include Benedict Arnold (1741-1801), an American military officer during the Revolutionary War who defected to the British Army; Matthew Arnold (1822-1888), an English poet and cultural critic; and Arnold Schwarzenegger (born 1947), an Austrian-American actor, bodybuilder, and former governor of California.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arnold
Among Census respondents with the surname Arnold, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.3%. The next largest groups are Black (13.0%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Arnold 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 Arnold surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.3% · 103,468
- Black or African American13.0% · 17,167
- Two or more races4.1% · 5,440
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 4,455
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 923
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 707
Timeline
Historical Census data for Arnold
Arnold 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
#201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 138,893
+2,578 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 47.09
Rank movement Down 14 places
2020
#214
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132,160
-6,733 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 44.22
Rank movement Down 13 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #187 | 136,315 | 50.53 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #201 | 138,893 | 47.09 | +2,578 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 14 places |
| 2020 | #214 | 132,160 | 44.22 | -6,733 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 13 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 Arnold 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 | #201 | #214 | -6.5% |
| Count | 138,893 | 132,160 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 47.09 | 44.22 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Arnold bearers went from 138,893 to 132,160 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 13 positions in the national ranking, going from #201 to #214.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Arnold
FAQ
Arnold surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Arnold?
Name Census estimates that about 151,551 living Americans carry the surname Arnold. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,262 residents.
How common is Arnold?
Arnold ranks #214 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 44.22 per 100,000 residents, which is about 44 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 132,160 people with the surname Arnold. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (151,551), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 44.22 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 44.22 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 44 of them to have the surname Arnold.
Has Arnold become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Arnold went from 138,893 recorded bearers to 132,160. That is a decrease of 6,733 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #201 to #214.
What does the Census say about the background of Arnold?
Among Census respondents with the surname Arnold, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.3%. The next largest groups are Black (13.0%) 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 Arnold in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.3% (103,468 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Arnold appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.3%), Black (13.0%), 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 Arnold (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 Arnold mean?
An English habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "eagle power" 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 Arnold (44.22 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 surname Arnold?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.