2000
#1,478
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,077
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.18
Uncommon Last name
Butcher
An occupational surname referring to a person who slaughters animals or sells meat.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 24,932 Americans carry the last name Butcher. That puts it at #1,606 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.27 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 13,748 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Butcher 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 Butcher with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
25K
1 in 13,748
Census rank
#1,606
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
22K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 21,742 bearers of the surname Butcher in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.27 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1606th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Butcher, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.3%. The next largest groups are Black (8.7%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Butcher
The surname BUTCHER originates from an occupational name for a butcher, derived from the Anglo-Norman French word "boucher". It is believed to have arisen in England in the 12th century.
The name is thought to have first appeared in areas of England with significant Norman influence, such as the counties of Kent, Sussex, and Hampshire. Early variations of the spelling include Bocher, Bucher, and Buchere.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the surname BUTCHER can be found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which list a Robert le Boucher in Oxfordshire. The name also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327, where a Thomas le Boucher is mentioned.
In the 14th century, the surname BUTCHER is found in various records, including the Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire in 1379, which lists a Johannes Bocher. The Friary Rolls of York in 1388 also mention a William Boucher.
Notable individuals with the surname BUTCHER include John Butcher (c.1553-1625), an English Catholic priest and martyr, and Humphrey Butcher (c.1594-1660), an English clergyman and religious writer. Samuel Butcher (1811-1876) was an English classical scholar and translator, while Henry Charles Butcher (1832-1909) was an English classical scholar and educator.
Another prominent figure was Samuel Butcher (1625-1685), an English physician and author who wrote works on ancient Greek medicine. Richard Butcher (1817-1891) was a notable English lawyer and judge who served as a Baron of the Exchequer.
The BUTCHER surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Butcher's Green in Essex and Butcher's Lane in Gloucestershire, reflecting the occupational origins of the name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Butcher
Among Census respondents with the surname Butcher, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.3%. The next largest groups are Black (8.7%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Butcher 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 Butcher surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.3% · 17,674
- Black or African American8.7% · 1,900
- Two or more races4.3% · 932
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 874
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 223
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 139
Timeline
Historical Census data for Butcher
Butcher 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
#1,567
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,978
+901 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 7.79
Rank movement Down 89 places
2020
#1,606
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,742
-1,236 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 7.27
Rank movement Down 39 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,478 | 22,077 | 8.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,567 | 22,978 | 7.79 | +901 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 89 places |
| 2020 | #1,606 | 21,742 | 7.27 | -1,236 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 39 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 Butcher 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 | #1,567 | #1,606 | -2.5% |
| Count | 22,978 | 21,742 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 7.79 | 7.27 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Butcher bearers went from 22,978 to 21,742 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 39 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,567 to #1,606.
FAQ
Butcher surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Butcher?
Name Census estimates that about 24,932 living Americans carry the surname Butcher. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 13,748 residents.
How common is Butcher?
Butcher ranks #1,606 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.27 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 21,742 people with the surname Butcher. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (24,932), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.27 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.27 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Butcher.
Has Butcher become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Butcher went from 22,978 recorded bearers to 21,742. That is a decrease of 1,236 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,567 to #1,606.
What does the Census say about the background of Butcher?
Among Census respondents with the surname Butcher, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.3%. The next largest groups are Black (8.7%) 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 Butcher in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.3% (17,674 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Butcher appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.3%), Black (8.7%), 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 Butcher (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 Butcher mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who slaughters animals or sells meat. 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 Butcher (7.27 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 Butcher?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Butcher, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.