2000
#9,348
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,199
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.19
Rare Last name
Caesar
A cognomen of the Julii, likely meaning "hairy", though it could also refer to having blue-grey eyes.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,127 Americans carry the last name Caesar. That puts it at #8,749 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 83,052 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Caesar 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 Caesar with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.1K
1 in 83,052
Census rank
#8,749
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,599 bearers of the surname Caesar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8749th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Caesar, the largest self-reported group is Black at 57.2%. The next largest groups are White (28.1%) and Hispanic (6.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Caesar
The surname Caesar is derived from the Latin word "Caesar", which was a Roman family name. It originated in ancient Rome and was first associated with the gens (clan) Iulia, one of the most prominent patrician families in the city.
The name Caesar is believed to have been derived from the Latin word "caesaries", meaning "head of hair" or "head of long hair". This is thought to have been a nickname given to an early bearer of the name who had a thick head of hair.
The most famous bearer of the name was Gaius Julius Caesar, the Roman military leader, statesman, and author who lived from 100 BC to 44 BC. He played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire.
In the Middle Ages, the name Caesar was sometimes used as a personal name or as a surname, particularly in areas that were once part of the Roman Empire or had strong cultural ties to Rome. It can be found in various medieval documents and records from Italy, France, and other parts of Europe.
One early recorded bearer of the surname Caesar was Otto Caesar, a German nobleman who lived in the 12th century. He was a member of the House of Hohenstaufen and served as the Duke of Bavaria from 1155 to 1180.
Another notable figure with the surname Caesar was Giulio Cesare, an Italian painter and architect who lived from 1570 to 1636. He was known for his work on the Basilica of St. Peter's in Rome and was a prominent figure in the Baroque architectural movement.
In England, the name Caesar was sometimes anglicized as "Cesar" or "Sesar". One early recorded bearer of this variant spelling was Robert Sesar, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1195.
During the Renaissance period, several Italian families adopted the surname Caesar, including the Cesari family of Bologna and the Cesarini family of Rome. These families claimed descent from the ancient Roman gens Iulia and used the name as a way to connect themselves with the legacy of ancient Rome.
Other notable individuals with the surname Caesar include Sir Julius Caesar (1558-1636), an English judge and politician who served as Master of the Rolls, and Arthur Alphonse Caesar (1892-1953), a British composer and conductor known for his work in the field of light music.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Caesar
Among Census respondents with the surname Caesar, the largest self-reported group is Black at 57.2%. The next largest groups are White (28.1%) and Hispanic (6.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Caesar 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 Caesar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American57.2% · 2,059
- White28.1% · 1,013
- Hispanic or Latino6.5% · 233
- Two or more races5.5% · 198
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 56
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 40
Timeline
Historical Census data for Caesar
Caesar 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
#9,013
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,628
+429 bearers (+13.4%)
Per 100,000 1.23
Rank movement Up 335 places
2020
#8,749
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,599
-29 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 1.20
Rank movement Up 264 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,348 | 3,199 | 1.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,013 | 3,628 | 1.23 | +429 bearers (+13.4%) | Up 335 places |
| 2020 | #8,749 | 3,599 | 1.20 | -29 bearers (-0.8%) | Up 264 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 Caesar 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 | #9,013 | #8,749 | 2.9% |
| Count | 3,628 | 3,599 | -0.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.23 | 1.20 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Caesar bearers went from 3,628 to 3,599 (-0.8% change). The surname moved up 264 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,013 to #8,749.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Caesar
FAQ
Caesar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Caesar?
Name Census estimates that about 4,127 living Americans carry the surname Caesar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 83,052 residents.
How common is Caesar?
Caesar ranks #8,749 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.20 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 3,599 people with the surname Caesar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.20 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 Caesar.
Has Caesar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Caesar went from 3,628 recorded bearers to 3,599. That is a decrease of 29 (-0.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,013 to #8,749.
What does the Census say about the background of Caesar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Caesar, the largest self-reported group is Black at 57.2%. The next largest groups are White (28.1%) and Hispanic (6.5%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Caesar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.2% (2,059 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Caesar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (57.2%), White (28.1%), Hispanic (6.5%). 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 Caesar (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 Caesar mean?
A cognomen of the Julii, likely meaning "hairy", though it could also refer to having blue-grey eyes. 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 Caesar (1.20 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 last name Caesar?
Find out how common the surname Caesar is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.