2000
#757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 41,452
First available Census row
Per 100,000 15.37
Uncommon Last name
Calhoun
A Scottish habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "narrow corner" in Gaelic.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 47,414 Americans carry the last name Calhoun. That puts it at #814 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 13.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 7,229 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Calhoun 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
47K
1 in 7,229
Census rank
#814
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
13.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
41K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 41,347 bearers of the surname Calhoun in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 13.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 814th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Calhoun, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.4%. The next largest groups are Black (32.0%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Calhoun
The surname Calhoun originated in Scotland, deriving from the Gaelic words "coill" meaning "wood" and "shiune" meaning "pupil" or "seed." The name likely referred to someone who lived near a wooded area.
One of the earliest records of the Calhoun name dates back to the 12th century, when it was spelled "Colquhoun." The Colquhoun clan was prominent in the area around Loch Lomond.
In the 16th century, a variant spelling "Calhoun" emerged, particularly among those who had migrated to Ireland. The surname is found in Ulster records from this time.
The Domesday Book, a major medieval census compiled in 1086, contains no direct mentions of the Calhoun name, as it primarily covered England and was completed before the name's first recorded use.
Notable historical figures with the surname Calhoun include John Caldwell Calhoun (1782-1850), an American statesman and political theorist who served as the 7th Vice President of the United States. He was a leading voice for Southern interests in the decades before the Civil War.
Another prominent Calhoun was John Baptiste Calhoun (1782-1816), an American military officer and politician who served as the first Secretary of War under President James Monroe.
In Scotland, Sir John Colquhoun (1567-1617) was a lawyer and politician who served as Lord Clerk Register of Scotland in the early 17th century.
Andrew Colquhoun (1804-1870) was a Scottish merchant and writer who published works on the British Empire and economic policy.
Lastly, John Colquhoun (1805-1885) was a Scottish explorer and fur trader in the Pacific Northwest region of North America in the early 19th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Calhoun
Among Census respondents with the surname Calhoun, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.4%. The next largest groups are Black (32.0%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Calhoun 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 Calhoun surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.4% · 24,559
- Black or African American32.0% · 13,228
- Two or more races4.6% · 1,900
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 1,222
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 239
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 199
Timeline
Historical Census data for Calhoun
Calhoun 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
#803
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 43,180
+1,728 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 14.64
Rank movement Down 46 places
2020
#814
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 41,347
-1,833 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 13.83
Rank movement Down 11 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #757 | 41,452 | 15.37 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #803 | 43,180 | 14.64 | +1,728 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 46 places |
| 2020 | #814 | 41,347 | 13.83 | -1,833 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 11 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 Calhoun 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 | #803 | #814 | -1.4% |
| Count | 43,180 | 41,347 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 14.64 | 13.83 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Calhoun bearers went from 43,180 to 41,347 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 11 positions in the national ranking, going from #803 to #814.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Calhoun
FAQ
Calhoun surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Calhoun?
Name Census estimates that about 47,414 living Americans carry the surname Calhoun. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 7,229 residents.
How common is Calhoun?
Calhoun ranks #814 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 13.83 per 100,000 residents, which is about 14 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 41,347 people with the surname Calhoun. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (47,414), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 13.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 13.83 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 14 of them to have the surname Calhoun.
Has Calhoun become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Calhoun went from 43,180 recorded bearers to 41,347. That is a decrease of 1,833 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #803 to #814.
What does the Census say about the background of Calhoun?
Among Census respondents with the surname Calhoun, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.4%. The next largest groups are Black (32.0%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Calhoun in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.4% (24,559 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Calhoun appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (59.4%), Black (32.0%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Calhoun (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 Calhoun mean?
A Scottish habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "narrow corner" in Gaelic. 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 Calhoun (13.83 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 Calhoun?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.