2000
#5,181
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,198
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.30
Rare Last name
Birmingham
A locational surname referring to someone from the city of Birmingham, England, derived from Old English meaning "homestead of the Beorma people."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,614 Americans carry the last name Birmingham. That puts it at #5,787 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.93 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 51,823 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Birmingham 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 Birmingham with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.6K
1 in 51,823
Census rank
#5,787
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,768 bearers of the surname Birmingham in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.93 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5787th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Birmingham, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Hispanic (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Birmingham
The surname BIRMINGHAM is of English origin, derived from the city of Birmingham in the West Midlands region of England. The name is thought to have originated in the late 11th or early 12th century, around the time of the Norman Conquest.
Birmingham is believed to have its roots in the Old English words "Bremming" and "ham," meaning "homestead" or "settlement of the Bremming people." The Bremmings were an Anglo-Saxon tribe or family group that settled in the area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name BIRMINGHAM can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings and population undertaken by William the Conqueror. Although the spelling varied slightly, the entry likely referred to the same area that would later become known as Birmingham.
By the 13th century, the name had evolved to its modern spelling, and records show individuals bearing the surname BIRMINGHAM residing in various parts of England, particularly in the West Midlands region and surrounding areas.
Notable individuals with the surname BIRMINGHAM throughout history include:
1. John de Birmingham (c. 1200-1265), an English nobleman and Baron of Birmingham.
2. Sir John Birmingham (c. 1350-1416), a Member of Parliament and landowner from Warwickshire.
3. Thomas Birmingham (c. 1505-1572), a Protestant reformer and Church of England clergyman.
4. Edward Birmingham (1719-1765), an English poet and playwright.
5. John Birmingham (1816-1884), an Irish-American industrialist and founder of the Birmingham Iron Works in Pennsylvania.
As the city of Birmingham grew in prominence during the Industrial Revolution, the surname BIRMINGHAM became more widely spread, with many families adopting it as a locational name, indicating their origins or residence in the city or surrounding areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Birmingham
Among Census respondents with the surname Birmingham, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Hispanic (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Birmingham 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 Birmingham surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.8% · 4,603
- Black or African American10.1% · 584
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 280
- Two or more races4.1% · 234
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 44
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Birmingham
Birmingham 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
#5,297
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,577
+379 bearers (+6.1%)
Per 100,000 2.23
Rank movement Down 116 places
2020
#5,787
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,768
-809 bearers (-12.3%)
Per 100,000 1.93
Rank movement Down 490 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,181 | 6,198 | 2.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,297 | 6,577 | 2.23 | +379 bearers (+6.1%) | Down 116 places |
| 2020 | #5,787 | 5,768 | 1.93 | -809 bearers (-12.3%) | Down 490 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 Birmingham 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 | #5,297 | #5,787 | -9.3% |
| Count | 6,577 | 5,768 | -12.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.23 | 1.93 | -13.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Birmingham bearers went from 6,577 to 5,768 (-12.3% change). The surname moved down 490 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,297 to #5,787.
FAQ
Birmingham surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Birmingham?
Name Census estimates that about 6,614 living Americans carry the surname Birmingham. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 51,823 residents.
How common is Birmingham?
Birmingham ranks #5,787 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.93 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,768 people with the surname Birmingham. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,614), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.93 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.93 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Birmingham.
Has Birmingham become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Birmingham went from 6,577 recorded bearers to 5,768. That is a decrease of 809 (-12.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,297 to #5,787.
What does the Census say about the background of Birmingham?
Among Census respondents with the surname Birmingham, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Hispanic (4.9%). 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 Birmingham in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.8% (4,603 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Birmingham appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.8%), Black (10.1%), Hispanic (4.9%). 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 Birmingham (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 Birmingham mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from the city of Birmingham, England, derived from Old English meaning "homestead of the Beorma people." 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 Birmingham (1.93 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 share the surname Birmingham?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.