2000
#2,109
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,784
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.85
Uncommon Last name
Calloway
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "cold spring" or "cold stream" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 18,357 Americans carry the last name Calloway. That puts it at #2,215 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.36 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 18,672 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Calloway 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 Calloway with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
18K
1 in 18,672
Census rank
#2,215
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,008 bearers of the surname Calloway in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.36 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2215th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Calloway, the largest self-reported group is Black at 53.2%. The next largest groups are White (37.3%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Calloway
The surname Calloway originates from England and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English words "callu" meaning bald and "wath" meaning a ford or crossing, suggesting the name referred to someone who lived near a bald or bare ford across a stream.
One of the earliest records of the name appears in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1166, where it is spelled Calueway. The Domesday Book of 1086 also mentions a place called Calluewaith, which is likely related to the surname's origin.
In the 13th century, the name is found in various forms such as Calweyth, Callewey, and Calaway, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling of the time. The modern spelling of Calloway became more standardized in the 16th century.
Notable historical figures with the Calloway surname include Sir Thomas Calloway (c. 1540-1592), an English politician and landowner in Gloucestershire. Another early bearer of the name was John Calloway (c. 1570-1635), a merchant and alderman in the City of London.
In the 17th century, the Calloway family established themselves in Virginia, with Samuel Calloway (1626-1671) being one of the earliest settlers in the colony. His descendants played a prominent role in the American Revolutionary War, with Richard Calloway (1758-1824) serving as a Captain in the Continental Army.
Another significant figure was James Calloway (1748-1812), a pioneer and surveyor who explored and mapped parts of what is now Kentucky and Tennessee. He is credited with discovering the famous Mammoth Cave in 1809.
In the 19th century, Cab Calloway (1907-1994) became a renowned American jazz singer and bandleader, known for his energetic scat singing and leading the Cab Calloway Orchestra during the Harlem Renaissance.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Calloway
Among Census respondents with the surname Calloway, the largest self-reported group is Black at 53.2%. The next largest groups are White (37.3%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Calloway 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 Calloway surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American53.2% · 8,522
- White37.3% · 5,974
- Two or more races5.4% · 859
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 509
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 79
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 65
Timeline
Historical Census data for Calloway
Calloway 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
#2,175
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,689
+905 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 5.66
Rank movement Down 66 places
2020
#2,215
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,008
-681 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 5.36
Rank movement Down 40 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,109 | 15,784 | 5.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,175 | 16,689 | 5.66 | +905 bearers (+5.7%) | Down 66 places |
| 2020 | #2,215 | 16,008 | 5.36 | -681 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 40 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 Calloway 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 | #2,175 | #2,215 | -1.8% |
| Count | 16,689 | 16,008 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 5.66 | 5.36 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Calloway bearers went from 16,689 to 16,008 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 40 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,175 to #2,215.
FAQ
Calloway surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Calloway?
Name Census estimates that about 18,357 living Americans carry the surname Calloway. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 18,672 residents.
How common is Calloway?
Calloway ranks #2,215 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.36 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,008 people with the surname Calloway. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (18,357), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.36 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.36 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Calloway.
Has Calloway become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Calloway went from 16,689 recorded bearers to 16,008. That is a decrease of 681 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,175 to #2,215.
What does the Census say about the background of Calloway?
Among Census respondents with the surname Calloway, the largest self-reported group is Black at 53.2%. The next largest groups are White (37.3%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Calloway in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.2% (8,522 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Calloway appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (53.2%), White (37.3%), Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Calloway (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 Calloway mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "cold spring" or "cold stream" in Old English. 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 Calloway (5.36 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 surname Calloway?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.