2000
#123,314
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Butow
Derived from German, a topographic surname referring to a dweller near marshland or swampland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Butow. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Butow 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.
Bearers in the US
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Butow in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Butow, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.1%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Butow
The surname Butow has its origins in Germany, tracing back to the late 17th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "Butte," which refers to a small hut or dwelling. This suggests that the name may have initially been associated with individuals who resided in such humble abodes.
During the late 1600s and early 1700s, the Butow surname was primarily concentrated in the regions of Saxony and Silesia, which were then part of the Holy Roman Empire. Records from this era indicate that the name was sometimes spelled as "Buttow" or "Büttow," reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and orthography.
One of the earliest documented references to the Butow name can be found in the parish records of Zwickau, a town in Saxony, where a Hans Butow was mentioned in a baptismal record dated 1692. Additionally, a Christoph Butow was recorded as a landowner in the village of Grüningen, located in Silesia, in 1718.
As the centuries progressed, the Butow name spread to other parts of Germany and neighboring countries. Notable individuals bearing this surname include Johann Butow, a German composer and organist born in 1745, and Karl Butow, a Prussian military officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars (1789-1815).
In the 19th century, a branch of the Butow family emigrated to the United States, where they settled in the Midwest. One of the earliest American Butows was Wilhelm Butow, who arrived in Wisconsin in 1852 and later became a prosperous farmer.
Another prominent figure was Friedrich Butow, a German-born philosopher and educator who lived from 1805 to 1876. He authored several influential works on ethics and moral philosophy and served as a professor at the University of Berlin.
Finally, it is worth mentioning Helene Butow, a German artist and sculptor active in the early 20th century. She was known for her intricate wood carvings and exhibited her works in various galleries throughout Europe.
While the Butow name may have originated from humble beginnings, its bearers have left their mark across various fields, from the arts and academia to military service and agriculture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Butow
Among Census respondents with the surname Butow, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.1%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Butow 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 Butow surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 98
- Hispanic or Latino9.1% · 10
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Butow
Butow 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
#135,593
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
-5 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,279 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-14 bearers (-11.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,853 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #123,314 | 129 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #135,593 | 124 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-3.9%) | Down 12,279 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -14 bearers (-11.3%) | Down 13,853 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 Butow 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 | #135,593 | #149,446 | -10.2% |
| Count | 124 | 110 | -11.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Butow bearers went from 124 to 110 (-11.3% change). The surname moved down 13,853 positions in the national ranking, going from #135,593 to #149,446.
FAQ
Butow surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Butow?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Butow. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Butow?
Butow ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 110 people with the surname Butow. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Butow.
Has Butow become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Butow went from 124 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 14 (-11.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #135,593 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Butow?
Among Census respondents with the surname Butow, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.1%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Butow in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Butow appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.1%), Hispanic (9.1%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Butow (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 Butow mean?
Derived from German, a topographic surname referring to a dweller near marshland or swampland. 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 Butow (0.04 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 Butow?
If you just want to know how common the surname Butow is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.