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

Caruthers, 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 Caruthers surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Caruthers in America

Caruthers is the 8353rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Caruthers surname appeared 3,963 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Caruthers.

We can also compare 2010 data for Caruthers 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 Caruthers

The surname Caruthers is of Scottish origin, arising in the 13th century from the lands of Caruthers in Annandale, Dumfriesshire. The name is derived from the Gaelic 'Cathair Ualrich', meaning 'the fort of Ualrich', an ancient Gaelic personal name.

The earliest recorded spelling of the name is found in the ancient Scottish charters relating to the lands of Caruthers. In 1292, a Willelmus de Carutheris is mentioned as holding these lands. Another early record is of a Nicol de Carrutheris in 1296.

The Caruthers family played an important role in the turbulent history of the Scottish Borders. They were staunch supporters of the Bruce family and Robert the Bruce in the Wars of Scottish Independence against England in the early 14th century. Sir William Caruthers was knighted by King Robert I for his bravery in battle.

In the 16th century, the Caruthers were involved in the infamous Border Reivers conflicts, with the family's chief, John Caruthers, being declared a rebel and outlaw by the English Crown in 1569 for his raids across the Border into England.

Notable Caruthers individuals throughout history include Sir William Caruthers (c.1270-1340), a knight and supporter of Robert the Bruce; John Caruthers (c.1520-1590), a Border Reiver chief; Robert Caruthers (1800-1882), a Scottish-Canadian author and educator; and Wallace Caruthers (1827-1899), a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as a Senator.

Another famous bearer of the name was Robert Caruthers (1834-1917), an American lawyer and politician who served as Governor of Tennessee from 1863 to 1865 during the American Civil War. He later became the United States Ambassador to Mexico from 1885 to 1892.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Caruthers

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

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 Caruthers 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 Caruthers 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 Caruthers was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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