2000
#12,642
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,246
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.83
Rare Last name
Cargile
An Anglicized form of the Gaelic surname Mac Thorcadail, meaning "son of Torcadal" (possibly derived from a Norse personal name).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,611 Americans carry the last name Cargile. That puts it at #12,902 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 131,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cargile 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.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 131,273
Census rank
#12,902
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,277 bearers of the surname Cargile in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12902nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cargile, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.5%. The next largest groups are Black (17.8%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cargile
The surname CARGILE is of Scottish origin and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated in the Scottish Borders region, where it was a locational name derived from the lands of Cargill near Cupar in Fife.
The earliest recorded spelling of the name appears to be Cargill, which is thought to have derived from the old Gaelic words "carra" meaning "rough or rugged" and "gille" meaning "rocky place or hill." This suggests that the name was originally given to someone who lived in a rugged or hilly area.
In the famous Ragman Rolls of 1296, which recorded those who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England, there is a mention of a Johannes de Cargill from Fife. This is one of the earliest recorded instances of the name in historical records.
The variant spelling CARGILE emerged later, with one of the earliest recorded examples being that of John Cargile, who was born in Stirlingshire, Scotland, in 1611. He was a noted Presbyterian minister and played a role in the Scottish Reformation.
Another notable bearer of the name was Sir Myer Cargile, a Scottish merchant and landowner who lived in the late 17th century. He was involved in the trade with the American colonies and owned plantations in Virginia and Maryland.
In the 18th century, the name CARGILE can be found in the records of the Highland Clearances, where many Scots with this surname were displaced from their ancestral lands and forced to emigrate.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was William Cargile, who was born in Virginia in 1745. He served as a soldier in the American Revolutionary War.
Another notable American bearer of the name was John Cargile, who was born in Tennessee in 1818. He was a farmer and landowner, and his family played a role in the early settlement of Texas.
Throughout history, the name CARGILE has been associated with various places in Scotland, including the town of Cargill in Perthshire, which is believed to be the ancestral home of many families with this surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cargile
Among Census respondents with the surname Cargile, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.5%. The next largest groups are Black (17.8%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Cargile 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 Cargile surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.5% · 1,696
- Black or African American17.8% · 405
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 79
- Two or more races3.3% · 75
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cargile
Cargile 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
#13,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,355
+109 bearers (+4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 395 places
2020
#12,902
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,277
-78 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Up 135 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,642 | 2,246 | 0.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,037 | 2,355 | 0.80 | +109 bearers (+4.9%) | Down 395 places |
| 2020 | #12,902 | 2,277 | 0.76 | -78 bearers (-3.3%) | Up 135 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 Cargile 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 | #13,037 | #12,902 | 1.0% |
| Count | 2,355 | 2,277 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.76 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cargile bearers went from 2,355 to 2,277 (-3.3% change). The surname moved up 135 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,037 to #12,902.
FAQ
Cargile surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cargile?
Name Census estimates that about 2,611 living Americans carry the surname Cargile. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 131,273 residents.
How common is Cargile?
Cargile ranks #12,902 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 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 2,277 people with the surname Cargile. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,611), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 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 Cargile.
Has Cargile become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cargile went from 2,355 recorded bearers to 2,277. That is a decrease of 78 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,037 to #12,902.
What does the Census say about the background of Cargile?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cargile, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.5%. The next largest groups are Black (17.8%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Cargile in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.5% (1,696 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cargile appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.5%), Black (17.8%), Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Cargile (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 Cargile mean?
An Anglicized form of the Gaelic surname Mac Thorcadail, meaning "son of Torcadal" (possibly derived from a Norse personal name). 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 Cargile (0.76 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 Cargile?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Cargile on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.