2000
#2,887
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,401
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.23
Uncommon Last name
Cason
Derived from a place name meaning "son of Cas," a medieval English nickname for a person with curly hair.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 12,936 Americans carry the last name Cason. That puts it at #3,111 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 26,496 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cason 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 Cason with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
13K
1 in 26,496
Census rank
#3,111
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,281 bearers of the surname Cason in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3111th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cason, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.6%. The next largest groups are Black (29.6%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cason
The surname Cason has its origins in England and dates back to the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old French word "casane," meaning a small house or cottage. This name was likely given to someone who lived in a modest dwelling or worked as a caretaker of such a property.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cason can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, where it is spelled "Casoun." This suggests that the name was already established in England by that time.
During the medieval period, the name Cason appeared in various records and documents throughout England. For instance, in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1301, there is a mention of a person named William Cason.
The Cason surname has also been linked to several place names in England, such as Cason in Lincolnshire and Caston in Norfolk. These places may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the name over time.
One notable individual with the surname Cason was Sir John Cason, a 15th-century English knight who served under King Henry V during the Hundred Years' War. He was born around 1390 and participated in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.
Another prominent figure was Thomas Cason, an English politician and landowner who lived in the 16th century. He served as a Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire in 1558 and owned several estates in the region.
In the 17th century, there was a renowned clergyman named John Cason, who served as the Dean of Winchester Cathedral from 1635 to 1641. He played a significant role in the religious and academic life of the city during that period.
During the 18th century, the Cason surname was also found in Scotland, where a family by that name owned lands in Aberdeenshire. One notable member was Robert Cason, a Scottish landowner and merchant who lived from 1710 to 1785.
In the 19th century, a British military officer named William Cason distinguished himself during the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in 1785 and served in several campaigns, including the Peninsular War and the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cason
Among Census respondents with the surname Cason, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.6%. The next largest groups are Black (29.6%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Cason 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 Cason surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.6% · 6,952
- Black or African American29.6% · 3,339
- Two or more races5.1% · 572
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 310
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 64
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 44
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cason
Cason 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
#3,083
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,657
+256 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 3.95
Rank movement Down 196 places
2020
#3,111
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,281
-376 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 3.77
Rank movement Down 28 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,887 | 11,401 | 4.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,083 | 11,657 | 3.95 | +256 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 196 places |
| 2020 | #3,111 | 11,281 | 3.77 | -376 bearers (-3.2%) | Down 28 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 Cason 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 | #3,083 | #3,111 | -0.9% |
| Count | 11,657 | 11,281 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 3.95 | 3.77 | -4.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cason bearers went from 11,657 to 11,281 (-3.2% change). The surname moved down 28 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,083 to #3,111.
FAQ
Cason surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cason?
Name Census estimates that about 12,936 living Americans carry the surname Cason. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 26,496 residents.
How common is Cason?
Cason ranks #3,111 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.77 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,281 people with the surname Cason. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (12,936), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.77 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Cason.
Has Cason become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cason went from 11,657 recorded bearers to 11,281. That is a decrease of 376 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,083 to #3,111.
What does the Census say about the background of Cason?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cason, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.6%. The next largest groups are Black (29.6%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Cason in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.6% (6,952 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cason appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (61.6%), Black (29.6%), Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Cason (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 Cason mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "son of Cas," a medieval English nickname for a person with curly hair. 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 Cason (3.77 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 surname Cason?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.