2000
#12,112
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,361
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.88
Rare Last name
Caywood
A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "the wood where jackdaws nest" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,655 Americans carry the last name Caywood. That puts it at #12,731 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 129,098 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Caywood 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
2.7K
1 in 129,098
Census rank
#12,731
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,315 bearers of the surname Caywood in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12731st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Caywood, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.5%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Caywood
The surname CAYWOOD has its origins in England, tracing back to the late medieval period around the 13th or 14th century. It is believed to have derived from a place name or a topographic description, possibly related to an area with thick woods or a wooded valley.
One theory suggests that the name may have originated from the Old English words "cavu" and "wudu," meaning "hollow" and "wood," respectively. This could indicate that the earliest bearers of the name hailed from a settlement or region characterized by a hollow or valley surrounded by dense woodlands.
Another possibility is that the name is derived from a place name such as "Cawood" in Yorkshire, England. This place name is thought to have evolved from the Old English "Cawod," which may have referred to a wooded or overgrown area.
Some of the earliest recorded instances of the CAYWOOD surname can be found in various historical records and documents from the 16th and 17th centuries. For instance, in 1573, a record mentions a John CAYWOOD from Bedfordshire, England. Additionally, in 1634, a marriage record from Northamptonshire lists a William CAYWOOD.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the CAYWOOD surname. One example is John CAYWOOD, an English clergyman who lived in the late 16th century and served as the Rector of Stanwick in Northamptonshire. Another prominent figure was Robert CAYWOOD, a 17th-century landowner and Member of Parliament for Northampton between 1640 and 1653.
In the realm of literature, one of the earliest known references to the surname can be found in the writings of the English poet and playwright William Shakespeare. In his play "Henry VI, Part 2," written around 1591, Shakespeare mentions a character named CAYWOOD, though it is unclear whether this was a real person or a fictional character.
Other notable individuals with the CAYWOOD surname include Samuel CAYWOOD, an American pioneer and farmer who settled in Ohio in the early 19th century, and William CAYWOOD, a British military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and was awarded the prestigious Order of the Bath in 1815.
While the CAYWOOD surname may not have been as widespread as some other English surnames, it has left its mark on history, with bearers contributing to various fields, including religion, politics, literature, and military service.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Caywood
Among Census respondents with the surname Caywood, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.5%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Caywood 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 Caywood surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.8% · 1,939
- Two or more races6.5% · 150
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 83
- Black or African American3.1% · 71
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 46
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 26
Timeline
Historical Census data for Caywood
Caywood 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
#12,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,372
+11 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 836 places
2020
#12,731
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,315
-57 bearers (-2.4%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Up 217 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,112 | 2,361 | 0.88 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,948 | 2,372 | 0.80 | +11 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 836 places |
| 2020 | #12,731 | 2,315 | 0.77 | -57 bearers (-2.4%) | Up 217 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 Caywood 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 | #12,948 | #12,731 | 1.7% |
| Count | 2,372 | 2,315 | -2.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.77 | -3.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Caywood bearers went from 2,372 to 2,315 (-2.4% change). The surname moved up 217 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,948 to #12,731.
FAQ
Caywood surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Caywood?
Name Census estimates that about 2,655 living Americans carry the surname Caywood. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 129,098 residents.
How common is Caywood?
Caywood ranks #12,731 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.77 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 2,315 people with the surname Caywood. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,655), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.77 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 Caywood.
Has Caywood become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Caywood went from 2,372 recorded bearers to 2,315. That is a decrease of 57 (-2.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,948 to #12,731.
What does the Census say about the background of Caywood?
Among Census respondents with the surname Caywood, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.5%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Caywood in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.8% (1,939 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Caywood appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.8%), Two or More Races (6.5%), Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Caywood (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 Caywood mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "the wood where jackdaws nest" in Old English. 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 Caywood (0.77 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 Caywood?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.