2000
#13,724
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,025
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.75
Rare Last name
Baltimore
A locational surname referring to the town of Baltimore in County Cork, Ireland, or Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,436 Americans carry the last name Baltimore. That puts it at #13,660 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 140,704 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Baltimore 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
2.4K
1 in 140,704
Census rank
#13,660
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,124 bearers of the surname Baltimore in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13660th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Baltimore, the largest self-reported group is Black at 59.4%. The next largest groups are White (30.8%) and Two or More Races (5.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Baltimore
The surname Baltimore has its origins in England, dating back to the late 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "bealdor" meaning "prince" and "mere" meaning "lake" or "sea." This suggests that the name may have referred to a location near a body of water associated with a prince or ruler.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Baltimore appears in the parish records of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London, where a certain Thomas Baltimore was christened in 1592. It is also found in the records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, where a William Baltimore was mentioned in 1607.
The name Baltimore is closely linked to the city of Baltimore in Maryland, United States, which was founded in 1729 and named after Lord Baltimore, the proprietor of the Maryland colony. Lord Baltimore's full name was Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore (1605-1675), and he was granted the charter for the Maryland colony by King Charles I in 1632.
Another notable figure with the surname Baltimore was George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore (1579-1632), who was the first Lord Proprietor of the Province of Avalon in Newfoundland, Canada. He was a prominent English politician and colonist who played a significant role in the early settlement of North America.
In the 17th century, the Baltimore family was influential in the establishment of the Maryland colony and the city of Baltimore. Sir John Baltimore (1565-1638) was the father of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, and served as a member of the Virginia Company, which played a key role in the colonization of Virginia.
Another individual with the surname Baltimore worth mentioning is Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore (1637-1715), who served as the Governor of Maryland from 1661 to 1675. He was instrumental in the development of the colony and the promotion of religious tolerance in Maryland.
While the surname Baltimore has English origins, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and the influence of the Baltimore family in the early colonial history of North America.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Baltimore
Among Census respondents with the surname Baltimore, the largest self-reported group is Black at 59.4%. The next largest groups are White (30.8%) and Two or More Races (5.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Baltimore 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 Baltimore surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American59.4% · 1,261
- White30.8% · 655
- Two or more races5.8% · 124
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 67
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Baltimore
Baltimore 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
#13,944
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,165
+140 bearers (+6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 220 places
2020
#13,660
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,124
-41 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Up 284 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,724 | 2,025 | 0.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,944 | 2,165 | 0.73 | +140 bearers (+6.9%) | Down 220 places |
| 2020 | #13,660 | 2,124 | 0.71 | -41 bearers (-1.9%) | Up 284 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 Baltimore 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 | #13,944 | #13,660 | 2.0% |
| Count | 2,165 | 2,124 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.73 | 0.71 | -2.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Baltimore bearers went from 2,165 to 2,124 (-1.9% change). The surname moved up 284 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,944 to #13,660.
FAQ
Baltimore surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Baltimore?
Name Census estimates that about 2,436 living Americans carry the surname Baltimore. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 140,704 residents.
How common is Baltimore?
Baltimore ranks #13,660 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.71 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 2,124 people with the surname Baltimore. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,436), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.71 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 Baltimore.
Has Baltimore become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Baltimore went from 2,165 recorded bearers to 2,124. That is a decrease of 41 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,944 to #13,660.
What does the Census say about the background of Baltimore?
Among Census respondents with the surname Baltimore, the largest self-reported group is Black at 59.4%. The next largest groups are White (30.8%) and Two or More Races (5.8%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Baltimore in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.4% (1,261 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Baltimore appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (59.4%), White (30.8%), Two or More Races (5.8%). 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 Baltimore (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 Baltimore mean?
A locational surname referring to the town of Baltimore in County Cork, Ireland, or Baltimore, Maryland, United States. 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 Baltimore (0.71 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 are called Baltimore?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Baltimore, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.