2000
#8,193
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,727
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.38
Rare Last name
Banker
An occupational surname referring to a money lender, financier, or one who worked at a bank.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,081 Americans carry the last name Banker. That puts it at #8,836 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.19 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 83,988 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Banker 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 Banker with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.1K
1 in 83,988
Census rank
#8,836
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,559 bearers of the surname Banker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.19 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8836th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Banker, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.4%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Banker
The surname Banker is of English origin, derived from the occupation of a banker or money lender. It is believed to have originated during the Middle Ages, specifically in the 13th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, where a certain Richard le Banker was mentioned. This record suggests that the name was already in use by that time, likely referring to an individual who worked as a banker or money lender.
During the medieval period, banking and money lending were often associated with Jewish communities, as they were one of the few groups permitted to engage in such activities due to religious restrictions on usury. It is possible that some early bearers of the Banker surname may have had Jewish ancestry.
The name Banker can also be traced back to various place names in England, such as Bankers Hatch in Hertfordshire and Bankers Hill in Staffordshire. These place names may have influenced the development of the surname, as it was common for people to adopt surnames based on their place of origin or residence.
Notable individuals with the surname Banker include John Banker (1540-1610), an English merchant and member of the Company of Merchant Adventurers; William Banker (1670-1745), a prominent Quaker from Pennsylvania; and Samuel Banker (1765-1839), an American Revolutionary War soldier and early settler in Ohio.
Another noteworthy figure was Sir Edward Banker (1810-1888), a British politician and Member of Parliament. He served as the Lord Mayor of London from 1866 to 1867.
In the realm of literature, the name Banker is associated with Henry Banker (1824-1894), an American writer and journalist who published several works, including "The Haunted Mere" and "Chronicles of a Traveller."
It is worth noting that variations in spelling, such as Bancker and Bankert, may have existed in different regions or time periods, reflecting the evolution of surnames and their pronunciation.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Banker
Among Census respondents with the surname Banker, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.4%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Banker 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 Banker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.3% · 3,035
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.4% · 226
- Two or more races3.7% · 131
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 93
- Black or African American1.7% · 61
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Banker
Banker 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
#7,876
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,201
+474 bearers (+12.7%)
Per 100,000 1.42
Rank movement Up 317 places
2020
#8,836
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,559
-642 bearers (-15.3%)
Per 100,000 1.19
Rank movement Down 960 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,193 | 3,727 | 1.38 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,876 | 4,201 | 1.42 | +474 bearers (+12.7%) | Up 317 places |
| 2020 | #8,836 | 3,559 | 1.19 | -642 bearers (-15.3%) | Down 960 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 Banker 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 | #7,876 | #8,836 | -12.2% |
| Count | 4,201 | 3,559 | -15.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.42 | 1.19 | -16.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Banker bearers went from 4,201 to 3,559 (-15.3% change). The surname moved down 960 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,876 to #8,836.
FAQ
Banker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Banker?
Name Census estimates that about 4,081 living Americans carry the surname Banker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 83,988 residents.
How common is Banker?
Banker ranks #8,836 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.19 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 3,559 people with the surname Banker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,081), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.19 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.19 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 Banker.
Has Banker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Banker went from 4,201 recorded bearers to 3,559. That is a decrease of 642 (-15.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,876 to #8,836.
What does the Census say about the background of Banker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Banker, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.4%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Banker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.3% (3,035 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Banker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (6.4%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Banker (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 Banker mean?
An occupational surname referring to a money lender, financier, or one who worked at a bank. 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 Banker (1.19 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 Banker?
Want to know how common the surname Banker is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.