2000
#10,093
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,944
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.09
Rare Last name
Belmont
A habitational surname referring to someone from a beautiful hill or mountain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,493 Americans carry the last name Belmont. That puts it at #10,086 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 98,126 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Belmont 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 Belmont with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.5K
1 in 98,126
Census rank
#10,086
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,046 bearers of the surname Belmont in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10086th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Belmont, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.9%) and Black (7.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Belmont
The surname Belmont has its origins in France, where it emerged in the late medieval period. It is derived from the Old French words "bel" meaning "beautiful" and "mont" meaning "hill" or "mountain." The name likely originated as a descriptive term for someone who lived near a picturesque hill or mountain.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various French records and documents from the 13th and 14th centuries. It appeared in various spellings, such as Beaumont, Belmonte, and Bellemonte, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions of the time.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Jean de Belmont, a French nobleman who lived in the late 13th century. He was mentioned in the records of the Duchy of Burgundy, where the name was particularly prevalent.
In England, the name Belmont can be traced back to the Norman Conquest of 1066, when many French nobles and their retinues accompanied William the Conqueror. The Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership commissioned by William I in 1086, includes references to individuals with the surname Belmont or similar variations.
During the Middle Ages, the name Belmont was also associated with several notable figures. One such individual was Geoffroy de Belmont, a French crusader who participated in the Third Crusade (1189–1192) under the leadership of Richard the Lionheart. Another was Jean de Belmont, a 14th-century French knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War against the English.
In Italy, the name Belmont gained prominence in the 16th century with the rise of the Venetian noble family of the same name. The Belmonts were influential merchants and bankers in the Republic of Venice, and their family estate, the Palazzo Belmont, still stands today.
Other notable individuals with the surname Belmont include:
1. Johann Belmont (1598-1668), a German composer and organist during the Baroque period.
2. Maria Belmont (1765-1827), an Italian opera singer who performed in the leading theaters of Europe during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
3. Auguste Belmont (1816-1890), a wealthy American banker and diplomat who served as the United States Minister to the Netherlands.
4. August Belmont Jr. (1853-1924), an American banker, sportsman, and philanthropist who founded the Belmont Stakes, one of the Triple Crown races in American Thoroughbred horse racing.
5. Eleanor Robson Belmont (1879-1979), an American actress, feminist, and political activist who fought for women's suffrage and other social causes in the early 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Belmont
Among Census respondents with the surname Belmont, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.9%) and Black (7.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Belmont 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 Belmont surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.5% · 2,238
- Hispanic or Latino13.9% · 424
- Black or African American7.5% · 227
- Two or more races3.3% · 100
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Belmont
Belmont 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
#9,648
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,363
+419 bearers (+14.2%)
Per 100,000 1.14
Rank movement Up 445 places
2020
#10,086
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,046
-317 bearers (-9.4%)
Per 100,000 1.02
Rank movement Down 438 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,093 | 2,944 | 1.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,648 | 3,363 | 1.14 | +419 bearers (+14.2%) | Up 445 places |
| 2020 | #10,086 | 3,046 | 1.02 | -317 bearers (-9.4%) | Down 438 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 Belmont 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 | #9,648 | #10,086 | -4.5% |
| Count | 3,363 | 3,046 | -9.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.14 | 1.02 | -10.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Belmont bearers went from 3,363 to 3,046 (-9.4% change). The surname moved down 438 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,648 to #10,086.
FAQ
Belmont surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Belmont?
Name Census estimates that about 3,493 living Americans carry the surname Belmont. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 98,126 residents.
How common is Belmont?
Belmont ranks #10,086 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.02 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 3,046 people with the surname Belmont. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,493), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.02 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 Belmont.
Has Belmont become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Belmont went from 3,363 recorded bearers to 3,046. That is a decrease of 317 (-9.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,648 to #10,086.
What does the Census say about the background of Belmont?
Among Census respondents with the surname Belmont, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.9%) and Black (7.5%). 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 Belmont in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.5% (2,238 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Belmont appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.5%), Hispanic (13.9%), Black (7.5%). 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 Belmont (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 Belmont mean?
A habitational surname referring to someone from a beautiful hill or mountain. 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 Belmont (1.02 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 Belmont?
Find out how many people are called Belmont on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.