2000
#12,773
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,217
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.82
Rare Last name
Calhoon
An Anglicized form of the Irish surname "O Ceallachain," which means "descendant of Ceallachán," a personal name meaning "bright-headed."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,375 Americans carry the last name Calhoon. That puts it at #13,946 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 144,318 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Calhoon 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
2.4K
1 in 144,318
Census rank
#13,946
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,071 bearers of the surname Calhoon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13946th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Calhoon, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Calhoon
The surname Calhoon is of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic word "cailleadh" which means "a leader" or "an outstanding person." It is believed to have originated in the Highlands of Scotland during the 12th century.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Calhoon can be found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from the year 1296, where a man named Gilcrist Calhoun is mentioned as a landowner in the county of Argyll.
The name Calhoon is also closely associated with the Clan Colquhoun, a prominent Scottish clan whose ancestral lands were located in the Loch Lomond area of the Western Highlands. The Clan Colquhoun is said to have derived their name from the Gaelic words "cul" meaning "back" and "choinnich" meaning "meeting place," suggesting their territory was a gathering place for travelers.
In the 16th century, a branch of the Clan Colquhoun adopted the spelling "Calhoon" as their surname. One notable member of this branch was Sir John Calhoon (1556-1623), a Scottish nobleman who served as a judge and member of the Scottish Privy Council.
Another famous bearer of the Calhoon name was William Calhoon (1772-1850), a Scottish-born merchant and industrialist who emigrated to the United States in the early 19th century. He established successful businesses in the textile and manufacturing industries in New England.
During the American Civil War, John Caldwell Calhoon (1835-1917) was a prominent Union Army general who fought in several major battles, including Shiloh and Chickamauga. He later served as a U.S. Congressman from Tennessee.
Marjorie Calhoon (1899-1982) was an American author and academic who wrote extensively on the history of the American theater and drama. She taught at the University of California, Berkeley, and authored numerous books on the subject.
In the field of sports, Archie Calhoon (1908-1986) was a professional baseball player who played for the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians in the 1930s. He later became a successful coach and manager in the minor leagues.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Calhoon
Among Census respondents with the surname Calhoon, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Calhoon 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 Calhoon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.2% · 1,848
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 86
- Two or more races3.2% · 66
- Black or African American2.6% · 54
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Calhoon
Calhoon 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
#14,062
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,141
-76 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 1,289 places
2020
#13,946
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,071
-70 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Up 116 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,773 | 2,217 | 0.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,062 | 2,141 | 0.73 | -76 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 1,289 places |
| 2020 | #13,946 | 2,071 | 0.69 | -70 bearers (-3.3%) | Up 116 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 Calhoon 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 | #14,062 | #13,946 | 0.8% |
| Count | 2,141 | 2,071 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.73 | 0.69 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Calhoon bearers went from 2,141 to 2,071 (-3.3% change). The surname moved up 116 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,062 to #13,946.
FAQ
Calhoon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Calhoon?
Name Census estimates that about 2,375 living Americans carry the surname Calhoon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 144,318 residents.
How common is Calhoon?
Calhoon ranks #13,946 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.69 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 2,071 people with the surname Calhoon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,375), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.69 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 Calhoon.
Has Calhoon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Calhoon went from 2,141 recorded bearers to 2,071. That is a decrease of 70 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,062 to #13,946.
What does the Census say about the background of Calhoon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Calhoon, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Calhoon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.2% (1,848 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Calhoon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.2%), Hispanic (4.2%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Calhoon (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 Calhoon mean?
An Anglicized form of the Irish surname "O Ceallachain," which means "descendant of Ceallachán," a personal name meaning "bright-headed." 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 Calhoon (0.69 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 Americans have the surname Calhoon?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.