2000
#10,336
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,855
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.06
Rare Last name
Bailes
An English occupational surname referring to a steward or official in charge of a royal or noble household.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,082 Americans carry the last name Bailes. That puts it at #11,244 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.90 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 111,212 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bailes 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 Bailes with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.1K
1 in 111,212
Census rank
#11,244
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,688 bearers of the surname Bailes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.90 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11244th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bailes, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bailes
The surname Bailes is of English origin and is believed to have derived from the Old English word "bæli," meaning a burning or a fire. This surname likely originated as a toponymic name, referring to someone who lived near a beacon or a place where fires were lit.
The earliest known record of the name Bailes can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Baillif" in the county of Warwickshire. This suggests that the name had already been established in England by the late 11th century.
In the medieval period, the name was often spelled in various ways, such as Bailles, Bayles, and Bailis, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions of the time. Some early bearers of this surname include John Bailles, who was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1208, and Robert Bailes, who was mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1292.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Bailes began to appear more frequently in various records, including parish registers and tax rolls. One notable bearer of this surname was John Bailes, a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of Norwich, who lived in the late 16th century.
Another individual of note was Sir Thomas Bailes, an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Lincolnshire in the early 17th century. He was born in 1585 and died in 1647.
In the 18th century, the Bailes surname was well-established in various parts of England, particularly in the counties of Warwickshire, Gloucestershire, and Lincolnshire. One notable figure from this period was William Bailes, a renowned architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Old Treasury Building in Whitehall. He was born in 1724 and died in 1792.
Moving into the 19th century, the name Bailes continued to be found across England, with some bearers of the surname achieving notable achievements. One such individual was John Bailes, a prominent English poet and writer who was born in 1819 and died in 1888.
Another notable figure was Sir George Bailes, a British military officer and explorer who served in the Indian Army and was instrumental in the exploration and mapping of the Himalayas. He was born in 1842 and died in 1915.
While the surname Bailes is not among the most common in England, it has a long and rich history, with many notable bearers contributing to various fields throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bailes
Among Census respondents with the surname Bailes, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Bailes 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 Bailes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.8% · 2,361
- Two or more races4.3% · 115
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 103
- Black or African American3.3% · 89
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bailes
Bailes 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
#10,150
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,178
+323 bearers (+11.3%)
Per 100,000 1.08
Rank movement Up 186 places
2020
#11,244
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,688
-490 bearers (-15.4%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Down 1,094 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,336 | 2,855 | 1.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,150 | 3,178 | 1.08 | +323 bearers (+11.3%) | Up 186 places |
| 2020 | #11,244 | 2,688 | 0.90 | -490 bearers (-15.4%) | Down 1,094 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 Bailes 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 | #10,150 | #11,244 | -10.8% |
| Count | 3,178 | 2,688 | -15.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.08 | 0.90 | -16.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bailes bearers went from 3,178 to 2,688 (-15.4% change). The surname moved down 1,094 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,150 to #11,244.
FAQ
Bailes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bailes?
Name Census estimates that about 3,082 living Americans carry the surname Bailes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 111,212 residents.
How common is Bailes?
Bailes ranks #11,244 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.90 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 2,688 people with the surname Bailes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,082), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.9 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.90 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 Bailes.
Has Bailes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bailes went from 3,178 recorded bearers to 2,688. That is a decrease of 490 (-15.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,150 to #11,244.
What does the Census say about the background of Bailes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bailes, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Bailes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.8% (2,361 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bailes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.8%), Two or More Races (4.3%), Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Bailes (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 Bailes mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a steward or official in charge of a royal or noble household. 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 Bailes (0.90 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 Bailes?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.