2000
#90,652
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 189
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.07
Very Rare Last name
Cat
A surname derived from the Middle English word "cat", indicating an association with cats or a cat-like personality trait.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 812 Americans carry the last name Cat. That puts it at #34,480 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.24 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 422,111 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cat 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 Cat with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
812
1 in 422,111
Census rank
#34,480
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
708
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 708 bearers of the surname Cat in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.24 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 34480th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cat, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (17.7%) and Hispanic (12.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cat
The surname "Cat" is believed to have originated in England during the late medieval period, deriving from the Middle English word "cat," which referred to the domesticated feline animal. This name likely emerged as a descriptive surname, given to individuals who were associated with cats or had a particular affinity for these animals.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname "Cat" can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from the year 1221, where a person named Robert le Cat is mentioned. The addition of the prefix "le" before the surname was a common practice at the time, denoting "the" in French.
Another early reference to this surname appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, which lists a certain John Cat. This record provides evidence of the surname's usage in the 14th century and suggests that it had already been established within various regions of England.
The surname "Cat" may have also been influenced by place names or locations that incorporated the word "cat." For instance, the village of Catwick in East Yorkshire, formerly known as Catewic in the Domesday Book of 1086, could have contributed to the emergence of this surname among individuals hailing from or associated with that area.
Notable individuals who bore the surname "Cat" throughout history include:
1. John Cat (fl. 1400s), an English chaplain and prebendary of St. Paul's Cathedral, London, mentioned in records from the 15th century.
2. Thomas Cat (c. 1485-1556), an English Protestant reformer and preacher during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI.
3. William Cat (c. 1550-1620), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Gloucester in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
4. Cuthbert Cat (1617-1683), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1677 to 1679.
5. Mary Cat (1664-1718), a British diarist and writer whose personal journals provide insights into the lives of gentry in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
It is worth noting that variations in spelling, such as "Catt" or "Catte," were common during earlier periods, reflecting the fluidity of surname spellings before they became standardized.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cat
Among Census respondents with the surname Cat, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (17.7%) and Hispanic (12.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Cat 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 Cat surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.9% · 410
- Asian and Pacific Islander17.7% · 125
- Hispanic or Latino12.1% · 86
- Black or African American8.3% · 59
- Two or more races3.4% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cat
Cat 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
#99,378
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 182
-7 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 8,726 places
2020
#34,480
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 708
+526 bearers (+289.0%)
Per 100,000 0.24
Rank movement Up 64,898 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #90,652 | 189 | 0.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #99,378 | 182 | 0.06 | -7 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 8,726 places |
| 2020 | #34,480 | 708 | 0.24 | +526 bearers (+289.0%) | Up 64,898 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 Cat 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 | #99,378 | #34,480 | 65.3% |
| Count | 182 | 708 | 289.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.06 | 0.24 | 294.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cat bearers went from 182 to 708 (+289.0% change). The surname moved up 64,898 positions in the national ranking, going from #99,378 to #34,480.
FAQ
Cat surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cat?
Name Census estimates that about 812 living Americans carry the surname Cat. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 422,111 residents.
How common is Cat?
Cat ranks #34,480 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.24 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 708 people with the surname Cat. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (812), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.24 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.24 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Cat.
Has Cat become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cat went from 182 recorded bearers to 708. That is an increase of 526 (+289.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #99,378 to #34,480.
What does the Census say about the background of Cat?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cat, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (17.7%) and Hispanic (12.1%). 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 Cat in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.9% (410 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cat appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (57.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (17.7%), Hispanic (12.1%). 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 Cat (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 Cat mean?
A surname derived from the Middle English word "cat", indicating an association with cats or a cat-like personality trait. 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 Cat (0.24 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 Cat?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.