2000
#3,673
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,884
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.29
Uncommon Last name
Bourne
A locational surname referring to someone from a stream, spring, or boundary.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,557 Americans carry the last name Bourne. That puts it at #3,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 32,467 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bourne 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 Bourne with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 32,467
Census rank
#3,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.2K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,206 bearers of the surname Bourne in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bourne, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.1%. The next largest groups are Black (18.1%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bourne
The surname Bourne is an English toponymic name originating from various places in England, such as Bourne in Lincolnshire, Bourne End in Buckinghamshire, and other locations with names derived from the Old English word "burna," meaning a stream or small river.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th century. One of the earliest known bearers was Walter de Burne, who was mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1260. Another early record is that of Reginald atte Bourne, found in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327.
The Bourne surname is not mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, as it is a relatively modern name derived from place names that emerged later in the medieval period. However, the name is closely associated with the town of Bourne in Lincolnshire, which was known as "Burna" in the Domesday survey.
Notable historical figures with the surname Bourne include Sir John Bourne (1584-1659), an English royalist and politician who served as Secretary of State during the reign of King Charles I. Another prominent individual was Benjamin Bourne (1755-1808), an English Methodist minister and writer who published several influential works on theology and education.
In the United States, Sheba Bourne (1840-1870) was a prominent African American educator and activist who worked tirelessly for the advancement of education for Black children in the post-Civil War era. William Oland Bourne (1819-1901) was an American inventor and engineer known for his contributions to the development of the modern typewriter and the first successful typographic line-casting machine.
Additionally, Hugh Bourne (1772-1852) was a prominent English Methodist minister and co-founder of the Primitive Methodist Church, a significant religious movement in the early 19th century.
Throughout history, the Bourne surname has been associated with various place names and has undergone slight spelling variations, such as Borne, Bourn, and Burn, reflecting the regional dialects and linguistic changes over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bourne
Among Census respondents with the surname Bourne, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.1%. The next largest groups are Black (18.1%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Bourne 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 Bourne surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.1% · 6,541
- Black or African American18.1% · 1,668
- Two or more races4.9% · 449
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 387
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 107
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 54
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bourne
Bourne 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
#3,823
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,270
+386 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 3.14
Rank movement Down 150 places
2020
#3,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,206
-64 bearers (-0.7%)
Per 100,000 3.08
Rank movement Up 66 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,673 | 8,884 | 3.29 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,823 | 9,270 | 3.14 | +386 bearers (+4.3%) | Down 150 places |
| 2020 | #3,757 | 9,206 | 3.08 | -64 bearers (-0.7%) | Up 66 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 Bourne 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 | #3,823 | #3,757 | 1.7% |
| Count | 9,270 | 9,206 | -0.7% |
| Per 100K | 3.14 | 3.08 | -1.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bourne bearers went from 9,270 to 9,206 (-0.7% change). The surname moved up 66 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,823 to #3,757.
FAQ
Bourne surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bourne?
Name Census estimates that about 10,557 living Americans carry the surname Bourne. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 32,467 residents.
How common is Bourne?
Bourne ranks #3,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.08 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 9,206 people with the surname Bourne. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,557), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.08 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 Bourne.
Has Bourne become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bourne went from 9,270 recorded bearers to 9,206. That is a decrease of 64 (-0.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #3,823 to #3,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Bourne?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bourne, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.1%. The next largest groups are Black (18.1%) and Two or More Races (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 Bourne in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.1% (6,541 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bourne appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (71.1%), Black (18.1%), Two or More Races (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 Bourne (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 Bourne mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from a stream, spring, or boundary. 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 Bourne (3.08 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 are called Bourne?
If you just want to know how common the surname Bourne is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.