2000
#11,924
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,405
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.89
Rare Last name
Canon
An occupational surname referring to a clergyman or someone who worked for the church in an official capacity.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,867 Americans carry the last name Canon. That puts it at #11,953 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 119,552 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Canon 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 Canon with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 119,552
Census rank
#11,953
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,500 bearers of the surname Canon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11953rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Canon, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.2%) and Black (5.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Canon
The surname Canon originates from England and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old French word "canon," which means a clergyman who followed a set of religious rules or canons. The name was likely given to someone who lived near a cathedral or church where canons resided.
The earliest recorded instance of the surname Canon appears in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1190, where a Robert Canon is mentioned. The name also appears in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, listing a John le Canon.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are several mentions of places with names similar to Canon, such as Canunditon (modern-day Caunton, Nottinghamshire) and Canundie (modern-day Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire), suggesting a connection between the name and these locations.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Canon was John Canon, a 14th-century English clergyman and philosopher who served as Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1356 to 1357.
Another prominent figure was Edmund Canon (c. 1500-1558), an English Benedictine monk and the last Prior of the Newnham Priory in Bedfordshire before its dissolution under King Henry VIII.
In the 16th century, Thomas Canon (c. 1509-1564) was an English Catholic priest and author who wrote several works on theology and religious philosophy.
William Canon (1609-1673) was an English clergyman and author who served as a chaplain to King Charles I and later became a canon of Windsor.
Additionally, Richard Canon (1653-1730) was an English mathematician and inventor who made significant contributions to the development of early calculating machines.
These examples illustrate the diverse historical figures who carried the surname Canon, often associated with religious or scholarly pursuits, reflecting the name's origins and connections to the clergy and academic institutions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Canon
Among Census respondents with the surname Canon, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.2%) and Black (5.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Canon 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 Canon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.4% · 1,636
- Hispanic or Latino18.2% · 455
- Black or African American5.6% · 140
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.5% · 137
- Two or more races5.0% · 125
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Canon
Canon 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
#11,839
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,644
+239 bearers (+9.9%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Up 85 places
2020
#11,953
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,500
-144 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Down 114 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,924 | 2,405 | 0.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,839 | 2,644 | 0.90 | +239 bearers (+9.9%) | Up 85 places |
| 2020 | #11,953 | 2,500 | 0.84 | -144 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 114 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 Canon 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 | #11,839 | #11,953 | -1.0% |
| Count | 2,644 | 2,500 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.90 | 0.84 | -7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Canon bearers went from 2,644 to 2,500 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 114 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,839 to #11,953.
FAQ
Canon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Canon?
Name Census estimates that about 2,867 living Americans carry the surname Canon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 119,552 residents.
How common is Canon?
Canon ranks #11,953 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.84 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 2,500 people with the surname Canon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,867), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.84 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 Canon.
Has Canon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Canon went from 2,644 recorded bearers to 2,500. That is a decrease of 144 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,839 to #11,953.
What does the Census say about the background of Canon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Canon, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.2%) and Black (5.6%). 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 Canon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.4% (1,636 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Canon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (65.4%), Hispanic (18.2%), Black (5.6%). 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 Canon (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 Canon mean?
An occupational surname referring to a clergyman or someone who worked for the church in an official capacity. 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 Canon (0.84 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 common is the surname Canon?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Canon at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.