2000
#2,093
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,913
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.90
Uncommon Last name
Chadwick
Derived from a place name meaning "farm belonging to Chad" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,890 Americans carry the last name Chadwick. That puts it at #2,275 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.22 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,159 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Chadwick 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 Chadwick with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
18K
1 in 19,159
Census rank
#2,275
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,601 bearers of the surname Chadwick in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.22 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2275th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Chadwick, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Chadwick
The surname Chadwick originates from the Old English language and can be traced back to the regions of Lancashire and Yorkshire in England during the late 11th century. It is derived from two words, "ceade" meaning "valley" and "wic" meaning "dwelling" or "village". The earliest recorded spelling of the name was "Cadewic" in the Domesday Book of 1086, referring to a place name in the region.
Chadwick is primarily a locational surname, indicating that the original bearers of the name hailed from a settlement or village situated in a valley. The name evolved over time, with variations such as Chadwyck, Chadwicke, and Chadwyk appearing in historical records.
One of the earliest documented references to the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Lancashire from 1176, where a Robert de Chadewic is mentioned. In the 13th century, a William de Chadwyk appears in the Assize Court Rolls of Yorkshire in 1285.
During the Middle Ages, the Chadwick family established themselves as prominent landowners and gentry in Lancashire and Yorkshire. Notable individuals from this period include Sir Andrew Chadwick (c. 1390-1460), a prominent knight who fought in the Wars of the Roses, and Thomas Chadwick (c. 1510-1580), a wealthy merchant and landowner in Lancashire.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the name continued to be well-represented in the region, with several Chadwicks serving as local officials and members of the gentry class. One notable figure was John Chadwick (1572-1648), a successful lawyer and Member of Parliament for Lancashire during the reign of King Charles I.
As the British Empire expanded, the Chadwick name spread to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia. Sir Edwin Chadwick (1800-1890), a renowned social reformer and pioneer of public health, was an influential figure in Victorian England and played a significant role in improving sanitation and living conditions for the working class.
Other notable individuals with the surname Chadwick include James Chadwick (1891-1974), a Nobel Prize-winning physicist who discovered the neutron, and Lynn Chadwick (1914-2003), a renowned British sculptor known for his abstract metal sculptures.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chadwick
Among Census respondents with the surname Chadwick, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Chadwick 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 Chadwick surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.0% · 13,420
- Black or African American5.1% · 792
- Two or more races3.9% · 614
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 589
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 113
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 73
Timeline
Historical Census data for Chadwick
Chadwick 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
#2,222
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,415
+502 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 5.56
Rank movement Down 129 places
2020
#2,275
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,601
-814 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 5.22
Rank movement Down 53 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,093 | 15,913 | 5.90 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,222 | 16,415 | 5.56 | +502 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 129 places |
| 2020 | #2,275 | 15,601 | 5.22 | -814 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 53 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 Chadwick 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 | #2,222 | #2,275 | -2.4% |
| Count | 16,415 | 15,601 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 5.56 | 5.22 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Chadwick bearers went from 16,415 to 15,601 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 53 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,222 to #2,275.
FAQ
Chadwick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Chadwick?
Name Census estimates that about 17,890 living Americans carry the surname Chadwick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,159 residents.
How common is Chadwick?
Chadwick ranks #2,275 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.22 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,601 people with the surname Chadwick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,890), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.22 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.22 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Chadwick.
Has Chadwick become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Chadwick went from 16,415 recorded bearers to 15,601. That is a decrease of 814 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,222 to #2,275.
What does the Census say about the background of Chadwick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Chadwick, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Chadwick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.0% (13,420 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Chadwick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.0%), Black (5.1%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Chadwick (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 Chadwick mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "farm belonging to Chad" 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 Chadwick (5.22 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 share the surname Chadwick?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.