2010
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Cawby
An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "from the cottage farm."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Cawby. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cawby 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
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Cawby in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cawby, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cawby
The surname Cawby is of English origin, derived from a place name in Lincolnshire, England. It is believed to have originated in the 12th or 13th century from the Old English words "calwe" meaning "bald" and "by" meaning "farm" or "village". The name likely referred to a settlement or location where a bald or tonsured person lived.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Cawby can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1273, where it appears as "Calweby". This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the late 13th century.
In the 14th century, the name is recorded in various spellings such as "Calweby", "Calveby", and "Cawlby" in various tax rolls and records from Lincolnshire and neighboring counties. This indicates that the spelling of the name was not yet standardized and varied based on local pronunciations and scribes' interpretations.
One notable early bearer of the name was John Cawby, a landowner from Cawby, Lincolnshire, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of 1328. Another early record comes from the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire, where a Thomas Cawby is mentioned in 1379.
In the 16th century, the name appears in the Parish Registers of Lincolnshire, with entries for individuals such as Robert Cawby (born 1534) and Margery Cawby (born 1562) from the village of Cawby itself.
The surname Cawby is also found in the records of the University of Oxford from the 17th century, with William Cawby (1610-1667) being a notable figure who served as the Regius Professor of Divinity.
Other notable bearers of the Cawby surname include John Cawby (1732-1800), a renowned clockmaker from Lincolnshire, and William Cawby (1825-1900), a prominent farmer and landowner from the same county.
While the name Cawby is relatively uncommon, it continues to be associated with its historic roots in Lincolnshire and the surrounding areas of England.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cawby
Among Census respondents with the surname Cawby, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Cawby 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 Cawby surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.2% · 102
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cawby
Cawby appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
+4 bearers (+3.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,093 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.9%) | Up 6,093 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 Cawby 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 | #158,432 | #152,339 | 3.8% |
| Count | 102 | 106 | 3.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 18.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cawby bearers went from 102 to 106 (+3.9% change). The surname moved up 6,093 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #152,339.
FAQ
Cawby surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cawby?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Cawby. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Cawby?
Cawby ranks #152,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 106 people with the surname Cawby. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Cawby.
Has Cawby become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cawby went from 102 recorded bearers to 106. That is an increase of 4 (+3.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Cawby?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cawby, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Cawby in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.2% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cawby appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.2%), Black (0.9%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Cawby (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 Cawby mean?
An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "from the cottage farm." 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 Cawby (0.04 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 Americans have the surname Cawby?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.