2000
#9,933
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,997
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.11
Rare Last name
Bumpus
Derived from the Middle English word "bumpous," meaning a person with a protuberant belly or an awkward, clumsy person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,118 Americans carry the last name Bumpus. That puts it at #11,136 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.91 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 109,928 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bumpus 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 Bumpus with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.1K
1 in 109,928
Census rank
#11,136
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,719 bearers of the surname Bumpus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.91 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11136th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bumpus, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.4%. The next largest groups are Black (12.2%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bumpus
The surname Bumpus is believed to have originated in England during the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "bun" meaning "a swelling or lump" and "puis" meaning "a small creek or stream," potentially referring to a person who lived near a small, swollen stream or a person with a physical characteristic resembling a swelling.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bumpus can be found in the Huntingdonshire Subsidy Rolls of 1327, where a certain Robert Bumpus is listed as a taxpayer. This suggests that the name was already established in that region by the early 14th century.
In the 16th century, the name appears in various parish records and court documents across different counties in England, including Essex, Wiltshire, and Suffolk. Notable examples include John Bumpus, who was born in Wiltshire in 1542, and William Bumpus, who was recorded as a landowner in the village of Bradfield, Essex, in 1598.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Bumpus family continued to spread across England, with branches emerging in counties such as Somerset, Devon, and Gloucestershire. One notable individual from this period was Thomas Bumpus, a wealthy merchant and landowner born in Somerset in 1675.
As the British Empire expanded, some members of the Bumpus family emigrated to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia. In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name is that of John Bumpus, who was born in Virginia in 1687.
Other notable individuals with the surname Bumpus include:
1. Edward Bumpus (1798-1859), an English bookseller and founder of the Bumpus bookshop in London.
2. James Bumpus (1812-1887), an English lawyer and judge who served as a Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench.
3. Frederick Bumpus (1837-1901), an English naturalist and zoologist known for his work on the anatomy and behavior of birds.
4. Henry Croswell Bumpus (1854-1926), an American biologist and educator who served as the president of Tufts University.
5. Hermon Carey Bumpus (1862-1943), an American zoologist and educator who served as the director of the American Museum of Natural History.
While the Bumpus surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to various parts of the world, with families bearing this name found in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bumpus
Among Census respondents with the surname Bumpus, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.4%. The next largest groups are Black (12.2%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Bumpus 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 Bumpus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.4% · 2,158
- Black or African American12.2% · 333
- Two or more races4.3% · 117
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 88
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bumpus
Bumpus 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
#10,806
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,949
-48 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 1.00
Rank movement Down 873 places
2020
#11,136
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,719
-230 bearers (-7.8%)
Per 100,000 0.91
Rank movement Down 330 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,933 | 2,997 | 1.11 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,806 | 2,949 | 1.00 | -48 bearers (-1.6%) | Down 873 places |
| 2020 | #11,136 | 2,719 | 0.91 | -230 bearers (-7.8%) | Down 330 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 Bumpus 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 | #10,806 | #11,136 | -3.1% |
| Count | 2,949 | 2,719 | -7.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.00 | 0.91 | -9.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bumpus bearers went from 2,949 to 2,719 (-7.8% change). The surname moved down 330 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,806 to #11,136.
FAQ
Bumpus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bumpus?
Name Census estimates that about 3,118 living Americans carry the surname Bumpus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 109,928 residents.
How common is Bumpus?
Bumpus ranks #11,136 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.91 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 2,719 people with the surname Bumpus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.91 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.91 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 Bumpus.
Has Bumpus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bumpus went from 2,949 recorded bearers to 2,719. That is a decrease of 230 (-7.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,806 to #11,136.
What does the Census say about the background of Bumpus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bumpus, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.4%. The next largest groups are Black (12.2%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Bumpus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.4% (2,158 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bumpus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.4%), Black (12.2%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Bumpus (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 Bumpus mean?
Derived from the Middle English word "bumpous," meaning a person with a protuberant belly or an awkward, clumsy person. 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 Bumpus (0.91 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 Bumpus?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.