2000
#1,922
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,169
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.36
Uncommon Last name
Calvert
A locational surname referring to someone from a calf enclosure or cold spring.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 19,289 Americans carry the last name Calvert. That puts it at #2,089 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 17,769 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Calvert 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 Calvert with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
19K
1 in 17,769
Census rank
#2,089
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,821 bearers of the surname Calvert in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2089th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Calvert, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Calvert
The surname Calvert has its origin in England, emerging during the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old French word "calver," which means "bare" or "bald." This suggests that the name may have initially been used as a descriptive nickname for someone who had little or no hair.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Calvert can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which documented landowners and their holdings across parts of England after the Norman Conquest. This historical record mentions individuals bearing variations of the name, such as "Calverd" and "Calvart."
In the 13th century, the surname Calvert began to appear more frequently in various records, including tax rolls and court documents. One notable example is Walter Calvert, who was listed as a landowner in Staffordshire in the late 1200s.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Calvert family gained prominence in England, with several members holding influential positions. Sir George Calvert (1579-1632) was a prominent statesman and the first Lord Baltimore, who played a significant role in establishing the colony of Maryland in North America.
Another notable figure was Leonard Calvert (1606-1647), the second Lord Baltimore and the first colonial governor of Maryland. He was instrumental in the establishment and early governance of the colony, which became a haven for Catholics and a model of religious tolerance at the time.
In the 18th century, Benedict Calvert (1679-1732), the fourth Lord Baltimore, was known for his involvement in the development of the colony and his efforts to maintain good relations with the Native American tribes in the region.
Over the centuries, the Calvert surname has been associated with various place names, such as Calvert County in Maryland, which was named after the Calvert family, and the towns of Calvert and Calvert City in Texas and Kentucky, respectively.
Other notable individuals bearing the Calvert surname include John Calvert (1785-1877), an English clergyman and author, and Sir Harry Calvert (1763-1826), a British military officer who served in the American Revolutionary War and later became the Governor of Gibraltar.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Calvert
Among Census respondents with the surname Calvert, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Calvert 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 Calvert surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.4% · 14,368
- Black or African American5.9% · 1,000
- Two or more races3.8% · 634
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 539
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 149
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 131
Timeline
Historical Census data for Calvert
Calvert 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
#2,043
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,619
+450 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 5.97
Rank movement Down 121 places
2020
#2,089
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,821
-798 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 5.63
Rank movement Down 46 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,922 | 17,169 | 6.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,043 | 17,619 | 5.97 | +450 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 121 places |
| 2020 | #2,089 | 16,821 | 5.63 | -798 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 46 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 Calvert 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 | #2,043 | #2,089 | -2.3% |
| Count | 17,619 | 16,821 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 5.97 | 5.63 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Calvert bearers went from 17,619 to 16,821 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 46 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,043 to #2,089.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Calvert
FAQ
Calvert surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Calvert?
Name Census estimates that about 19,289 living Americans carry the surname Calvert. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 17,769 residents.
How common is Calvert?
Calvert ranks #2,089 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.63 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,821 people with the surname Calvert. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (19,289), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.63 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Calvert.
Has Calvert become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Calvert went from 17,619 recorded bearers to 16,821. That is a decrease of 798 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,043 to #2,089.
What does the Census say about the background of Calvert?
Among Census respondents with the surname Calvert, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Calvert in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.4% (14,368 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Calvert appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.4%), Black (5.9%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Calvert (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 Calvert mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from a calf enclosure or cold spring. 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 Calvert (5.63 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 Calvert?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Calvert is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.