2000
#3,811
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,540
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.17
Rare Last name
Back
An occupational surname referring to a baker or someone living near a bakery or bake house.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,536 Americans carry the last name Back. That puts it at #4,138 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.78 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 35,943 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Back 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 Back with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.5K
1 in 35,943
Census rank
#4,138
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,316 bearers of the surname Back in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.78 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4138th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Back, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.8%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Back
The surname BACK originated in Germany and the Netherlands during the Middle Ages. It derived from the Low German word "bak," meaning "back" or "ridge," referring to someone who lived near a ridge or hillside. The earliest recorded instances of the surname date back to the 13th century.
In the Netherlands, the name was often spelled "Bak" or "Backer," and it appeared in various records and documents from that period. One notable example is Johannes Backer, a Dutch painter born in 1636 who was known for his portraiture and genre scenes.
In Germany, the name BACK was more commonly used, and it can be found in historical records from various regions, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Konrad Back, a merchant from Nuremberg who lived in the 15th century.
As the name spread across Europe, it took on various spellings and variations, such as Backe, Bäck, and Bäcker. These variations often reflected regional dialect or occupational associations, with "Bäcker" meaning "baker" in German.
One notable individual with the surname BACK was Johann Friedrich Back, a German explorer and naval officer born in 1765. He led several expeditions to the Arctic regions and made significant contributions to the exploration of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
Another prominent figure was Sir George Back, a British naval officer and explorer born in 1796. He led two expeditions to the Canadian Arctic in search of the Northwest Passage and was knighted for his achievements in 1835.
In the United States, the surname BACK has been present since the early days of European settlement. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Johann Back, a German immigrant who arrived in Pennsylvania in the 18th century.
Other notable individuals with the surname BACK include Karl Henry Adolf Back, a German-American botanist and explorer born in 1819, who conducted extensive studies of the flora and fauna of the American West, and George Woodward Bacon Back, an American lawyer and politician born in 1842, who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Back
Among Census respondents with the surname Back, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.8%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Back 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 Back surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.7% · 7,046
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.8% · 562
- Two or more races3.4% · 282
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 274
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 87
- Black or African American0.8% · 65
Timeline
Historical Census data for Back
Back 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
#4,051
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,762
+222 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 2.97
Rank movement Down 240 places
2020
#4,138
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,316
-446 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 2.78
Rank movement Down 87 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,811 | 8,540 | 3.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,051 | 8,762 | 2.97 | +222 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 240 places |
| 2020 | #4,138 | 8,316 | 2.78 | -446 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 87 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 Back 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 | #4,051 | #4,138 | -2.1% |
| Count | 8,762 | 8,316 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.97 | 2.78 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Back bearers went from 8,762 to 8,316 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 87 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,051 to #4,138.
FAQ
Back surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Back?
Name Census estimates that about 9,536 living Americans carry the surname Back. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 35,943 residents.
How common is Back?
Back ranks #4,138 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.78 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,316 people with the surname Back. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,536), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.78 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.78 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Back.
Has Back become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Back went from 8,762 recorded bearers to 8,316. That is a decrease of 446 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,051 to #4,138.
What does the Census say about the background of Back?
Among Census respondents with the surname Back, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.8%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Back in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.7% (7,046 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Back appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (6.8%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Back (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 Back mean?
An occupational surname referring to a baker or someone living near a bakery or bake house. 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 Back (2.78 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 Back?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Back at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.