Find out how popular the last name Cannon is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Cannon.

Cannon, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Cannon surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cannon in America

Cannon is the 466th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cannon surname appeared 71,085 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 24 people would have the surname Cannon.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cannon to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Cannon

The surname Cannon is of English origin, deriving from the Old English words "cann" and "canne," which referred to a vessel or container for liquids. The name first emerged in the 12th century and was likely an occupational name for someone who made or sold cans or containers.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, compiled by order of William the Conqueror, there are several references to individuals with the surname Cannon or variations such as Canun and Canunn. These early records indicate that the name was already established in various parts of England by the late 11th century.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1191, which mention a William Cannon. Another early bearer of the name was John Cannon, who was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275.

The surname Cannon is also closely associated with several notable historical figures. One such figure was Thomas Cannon (1509-1570), an English churchman and academic who served as the Master of the Free School in Coventry and later became a canon of Windsor.

Another prominent individual with this surname was Richard Cannon (1779-1865), an English composer and organist who served as the Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal and was known for his church music compositions.

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded bearers of the surname Cannon was William Cannon, who was born in 1609 in Somerset, England, and later emigrated to Virginia in the 1630s. His descendants went on to become prominent citizens in various parts of the country.

Other notable individuals with the surname Cannon include Annie Jump Cannon (1863-1941), an American astronomer who cataloged hundreds of thousands of stars and developed a system for classifying stellar spectra, and Walter Bradford Cannon (1871-1945), an American physiologist who conducted pioneering research on the human stress response and introduced the concept of homeostasis.

Throughout history, the surname Cannon has also been associated with various place names, such as Cannon Street in London and Cannon Hill Park in Birmingham, England. These place names likely originated from individuals with the surname Cannon who once lived or worked in those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cannon

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Cannon.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Cannon was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Cannon has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Cannon was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Cannon, please contact us.

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