2000
#2,807
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,745
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.35
Uncommon Last name
Birch
An English topographic surname for someone who lived near a birch tree or in a birch forest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,250 Americans carry the last name Birch. That puts it at #3,035 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 25,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Birch 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 Birch with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
13K
1 in 25,868
Census rank
#3,035
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,555 bearers of the surname Birch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3035th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Birch, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.7%. The next largest groups are Black (11.2%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Birch
The surname BIRCH is of English origin and derives from the Old English word 'birce', meaning the birch tree. It originally referred to someone living near birch trees or in an area abundant with birch.
The name can be traced back to the 13th century, with early records showing variations such as Birche, Byrche, and Burch. One of the earliest known references is found in the Hundredorum Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, where a Thomas de la Birche is mentioned.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are several place names containing the element 'birch', such as Birchanger in Essex and Birchover in Derbyshire, indicating the prevalence of birch trees in those areas.
Notable individuals bearing the surname BIRCH include Thomas Birch (1705-1766), an English historian and biographer known for his works on the lives of illustrious persons. Another prominent figure was Samuel Birch (1813-1885), an English Egyptologist and a renowned expert on Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Sir John Birch (1615-1691) was an English Baptist minister and one of the founders of the Particular Baptists. He played a significant role in the development of the Baptist denomination in England.
In the literary world, Anna Laetitia Barbauld (née Aikin) (1743-1825), an English poet and essayist, was born Anna Laetitia Birch before her marriage.
Thomas Birch (1779-1851), an English civil engineer, is remembered for his contributions to the construction of the renowned Menai Suspension Bridge in Wales, which was completed in 1826.
The BIRCH surname has a long and rich history, with its roots firmly planted in the English countryside and its branches extending to various fields, including literature, religion, history, and engineering.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Birch
Among Census respondents with the surname Birch, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.7%. The next largest groups are Black (11.2%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Birch 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 Birch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.7% · 9,208
- Black or African American11.2% · 1,292
- Two or more races4.0% · 460
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 434
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 107
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 54
Timeline
Historical Census data for Birch
Birch 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
#2,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,161
+416 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 4.12
Rank movement Down 147 places
2020
#3,035
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,555
-606 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 3.87
Rank movement Down 81 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,807 | 11,745 | 4.35 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,954 | 12,161 | 4.12 | +416 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 147 places |
| 2020 | #3,035 | 11,555 | 3.87 | -606 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 81 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 Birch 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 | #2,954 | #3,035 | -2.7% |
| Count | 12,161 | 11,555 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 4.12 | 3.87 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Birch bearers went from 12,161 to 11,555 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 81 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,954 to #3,035.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Birch
FAQ
Birch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Birch?
Name Census estimates that about 13,250 living Americans carry the surname Birch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 25,868 residents.
How common is Birch?
Birch ranks #3,035 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.87 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,555 people with the surname Birch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,250), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.87 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Birch.
Has Birch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Birch went from 12,161 recorded bearers to 11,555. That is a decrease of 606 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,954 to #3,035.
What does the Census say about the background of Birch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Birch, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.7%. The next largest groups are Black (11.2%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Birch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.7% (9,208 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Birch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.7%), Black (11.2%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Birch (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 Birch mean?
An English topographic surname for someone who lived near a birch tree or in a birch forest. 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 Birch (3.87 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 Birch?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.