2000
#944
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 33,962
First available Census row
Per 100,000 12.59
Uncommon Last name
Bird
An English occupational surname referring to a person who caught birds or kept birds.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 38,793 Americans carry the last name Bird. That puts it at #1,015 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 11.32 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 8,835 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bird 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 Bird with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
39K
1 in 8,835
Census rank
#1,015
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
11.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
34K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 33,829 bearers of the surname Bird in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 11.32 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1015th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bird, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bird
The surname BIRD is of English origin and is derived from the Old English word "bridd" or "brid," which means a young bird or fowl. It was initially used as a nickname for someone who had a particular affinity or resemblance to birds.
The name BIRD can be traced back to the 13th century, with some of the earliest recorded instances appearing in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, where it was written as "Brid." The Hundredorum Rolls, also known as the Rotuli Hundredorum, were a series of administrative records compiled in England in the late 13th century.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of land and property ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror, there is mention of a place called "Bridestowe" in Devon, which may have been derived from the Old English words "brid" and "stow," meaning "a place of birds."
One of the earliest documented bearers of the surname BIRD was Roger le Brid, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1221. The Pipe Rolls were administrative records maintained by the English Exchequer, containing entries related to taxation and other financial matters.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, the surname BIRD was also found in various spellings, such as "Byrde," "Byrdd," and "Burde," reflecting the phonetic variations and regional dialects of the time.
Notable individuals with the surname BIRD throughout history include:
1. William Bird (c. 1560-1624), an English mathematician and writer on navigation and algebra.
2. Edward Bird (1572-1658), an English Puritan clergyman and one of the translators of the King James Version of the Bible.
3. William Bird (1738-1808), an English composer and organist who served as the organist of the Chapel Royal.
4. Robert Montgomery Bird (1806-1854), an American novelist, playwright, and poet.
5. Golding Bird (1815-1854), an English physician and chemist known for his work on kidney diseases.
The surname BIRD has also been associated with various place names, such as Birdingbury in Warwickshire, Birdbrook in Essex, and Bird-in-Hand in Pennsylvania, USA, which was founded by settlers with the surname BIRD.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bird
Among Census respondents with the surname Bird, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Bird 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 Bird surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.6% · 28,611
- Two or more races4.3% · 1,463
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 1,334
- Black or African American3.3% · 1,130
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.7% · 922
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 369
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bird
Bird 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
#1,041
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 33,457
-505 bearers (-1.5%)
Per 100,000 11.34
Rank movement Down 97 places
2020
#1,015
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 33,829
+372 bearers (+1.1%)
Per 100,000 11.32
Rank movement Up 26 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #944 | 33,962 | 12.59 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,041 | 33,457 | 11.34 | -505 bearers (-1.5%) | Down 97 places |
| 2020 | #1,015 | 33,829 | 11.32 | +372 bearers (+1.1%) | Up 26 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 Bird 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 | #1,041 | #1,015 | 2.5% |
| Count | 33,457 | 33,829 | 1.1% |
| Per 100K | 11.34 | 11.32 | -0.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bird bearers went from 33,457 to 33,829 (+1.1% change). The surname moved up 26 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,041 to #1,015.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Bird
FAQ
Bird surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bird?
Name Census estimates that about 38,793 living Americans carry the surname Bird. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 8,835 residents.
How common is Bird?
Bird ranks #1,015 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 11.32 per 100,000 residents, which is about 11 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 33,829 people with the surname Bird. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (38,793), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 11.32 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 11.32 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 11 of them to have the surname Bird.
Has Bird become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bird went from 33,457 recorded bearers to 33,829. That is an increase of 372 (+1.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,041 to #1,015.
What does the Census say about the background of Bird?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bird, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Bird in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.6% (28,611 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bird appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.6%), Two or More Races (4.3%), Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Bird (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 Bird mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a person who caught birds or kept birds. 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 Bird (11.32 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 common is the surname Bird?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Bird on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.