2000
#4,204
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,814
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.90
Rare Last name
Batts
An English occupational surname referring to a boat builder or someone who operated a ferry.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,184 Americans carry the last name Batts. That puts it at #4,283 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 37,321 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Batts 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 Batts with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.2K
1 in 37,321
Census rank
#4,283
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,009 bearers of the surname Batts in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4283rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Batts, the largest self-reported group is Black at 50.6%. The next largest groups are White (41.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Batts
The surname Batts is of English origin, arising during the medieval period in Britain. It is derived from the Old English word "bat," which referred to a type of club or staff carried by travelers and workers. The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone who habitually carried such a staff or perhaps worked with bats or clubs in their trade.
One of the earliest recorded references to the surname Batts can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1273, which mentions a Roger le Batt. The "le" prefix indicates the name was initially a descriptive byname before becoming a hereditary surname over time.
In the 14th century, the surname appeared in various spellings such as Batte, Batt, and Bate in historical records across different regions of England, including Essex, Sussex, and Somerset. The variation in spelling was common during this period before standardized spellings emerged.
A notable early bearer of the name was John Batt, a 14th-century English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Somerset in 1379. Another early example is Richard Batt, a 15th-century English landowner and member of the gentry from Wiltshire, who was born around 1420.
In the 16th century, the surname Batts appeared in the parish records of Dorset, where a William Batts was recorded as a resident of Sherborne in 1567. Around the same time, a John Batts was listed as a landowner in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1572.
One of the earliest known instances of the surname in North America dates back to the 17th century, when Thomas Batts, an English settler, arrived in Virginia in 1635. He later became a prominent landowner and served as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses.
Other notable historical figures with the surname Batts include Reverend Thomas Batts (1689-1768), an English clergyman and antiquarian who served as the rector of Bremhill in Wiltshire, and John Batts (1758-1832), an English engraver and artist known for his landscapes and architectural prints.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Batts
Among Census respondents with the surname Batts, the largest self-reported group is Black at 50.6%. The next largest groups are White (41.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Batts 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 Batts surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American50.6% · 4,052
- White41.7% · 3,340
- Two or more races4.2% · 338
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 231
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Batts
Batts 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
#4,179
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,473
+659 bearers (+8.4%)
Per 100,000 2.87
Rank movement Up 25 places
2020
#4,283
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,009
-464 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 2.68
Rank movement Down 104 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,204 | 7,814 | 2.90 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,179 | 8,473 | 2.87 | +659 bearers (+8.4%) | Up 25 places |
| 2020 | #4,283 | 8,009 | 2.68 | -464 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 104 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 Batts 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 | #4,179 | #4,283 | -2.5% |
| Count | 8,473 | 8,009 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.87 | 2.68 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Batts bearers went from 8,473 to 8,009 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 104 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,179 to #4,283.
FAQ
Batts surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Batts?
Name Census estimates that about 9,184 living Americans carry the surname Batts. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 37,321 residents.
How common is Batts?
Batts ranks #4,283 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.68 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 8,009 people with the surname Batts. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,184), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.68 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 Batts.
Has Batts become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Batts went from 8,473 recorded bearers to 8,009. That is a decrease of 464 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,179 to #4,283.
What does the Census say about the background of Batts?
Among Census respondents with the surname Batts, the largest self-reported group is Black at 50.6%. The next largest groups are White (41.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Batts in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.6% (4,052 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Batts appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (50.6%), White (41.7%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Batts (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 Batts mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a boat builder or someone who operated a ferry. 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 Batts (2.68 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 Americans have the surname Batts?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.