2000
#3,836
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,506
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.15
Rare Last name
Carden
Derived from a place name meaning "the fort or enclosure" in Anglo-Saxon, or from the Welsh word "carreg" meaning "stone."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,178 Americans carry the last name Carden. That puts it at #4,289 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 37,345 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Carden 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 Carden with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.2K
1 in 37,345
Census rank
#4,289
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,004 bearers of the surname Carden in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4289th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Carden, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Black (5.6%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Carden
The surname Carden is believed to have originated in England, with its earliest known mentions dating back to the 13th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "cærde" meaning "cared for" or "tended," and "denu" meaning "valley," suggesting a potential association with someone who cared for or tended to a particular valley or area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1273, which mentions a "Roger de Caredene." This suggests that the name may have initially been spelled with variations such as "Caredene" or "Caradene" before evolving into its modern form of "Carden."
The name is also linked to various place names in England, such as Carden in Cheshire and Cardenham in Cornwall. These locations may have served as the birthplaces or residences of individuals who later adopted the surname Carden.
Notable figures throughout history who bore the surname Carden include Sir Robert Carden (1540-1622), an English politician and Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Another prominent figure was Sir John Carden (1552-1618), a military officer who served in the Spanish Army of Flanders and later became Governor of the Brill in the Netherlands.
In the 18th century, Sir John Craven Carden (1715-1785) was a British naval officer who achieved the rank of Vice Admiral and served during the Seven Years' War. His son, John Carden (1753-1830), followed in his footsteps and became a notable Royal Navy officer, serving in various campaigns during the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars.
During the Victorian era, Sir Robert Walter Carden (1801-1888) was a prominent British Army officer who served in the Crimean War and was appointed Governor of Gibraltar from 1859 to 1865. He was also a recipient of the Order of the Bath, a prestigious British order of chivalry.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who carried the surname Carden, highlighting its longstanding presence and potential significance in various contexts, particularly within the military and political spheres of Britain.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Carden
Among Census respondents with the surname Carden, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Black (5.6%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Carden 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 Carden surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.9% · 6,872
- Black or African American5.6% · 446
- Two or more races4.0% · 320
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 240
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 73
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 53
Timeline
Historical Census data for Carden
Carden 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
#4,143
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,548
+42 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 2.90
Rank movement Down 307 places
2020
#4,289
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,004
-544 bearers (-6.4%)
Per 100,000 2.68
Rank movement Down 146 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,836 | 8,506 | 3.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,143 | 8,548 | 2.90 | +42 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 307 places |
| 2020 | #4,289 | 8,004 | 2.68 | -544 bearers (-6.4%) | Down 146 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 Carden 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 | #4,143 | #4,289 | -3.5% |
| Count | 8,548 | 8,004 | -6.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.90 | 2.68 | -7.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Carden bearers went from 8,548 to 8,004 (-6.4% change). The surname moved down 146 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,143 to #4,289.
FAQ
Carden surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Carden?
Name Census estimates that about 9,178 living Americans carry the surname Carden. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 37,345 residents.
How common is Carden?
Carden ranks #4,289 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.68 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,004 people with the surname Carden. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,178), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.68 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Carden.
Has Carden become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Carden went from 8,548 recorded bearers to 8,004. That is a decrease of 544 (-6.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,143 to #4,289.
What does the Census say about the background of Carden?
Among Census respondents with the surname Carden, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Black (5.6%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Carden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.9% (6,872 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Carden appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.9%), Black (5.6%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Carden (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 Carden mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "the fort or enclosure" in Anglo-Saxon, or from the Welsh word "carreg" meaning "stone." 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 Carden (2.68 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 are called Carden?
See how many Americans have the surname Carden on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.