2010
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Charging
A surname derived from the Old English word "cærring," meaning a wheeled cart or wagon.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Charging. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Charging 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Charging in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Charging, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 70.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (14.5%) and White (10.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Charging
The surname "CHARGING" is believed to have originated in England during the late 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word "charren," which means "to turn or revolve." This word was often used to describe the action of a cart or wagon turning or maneuvering, suggesting that the name may have initially referred to someone who drove or guided carts or wagons.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname "CHARGING" can be found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which were administrative records compiled in England during the reign of King Edward I. The rolls mention a certain "Robertus le Charryng" from the county of Oxfordshire.
The surname "CHARGING" also appears in various medieval manuscripts and records from the 14th and 15th centuries. For example, the Subsidy Rolls of 1327 list a "John Charyng" from the village of Little Tew in Oxfordshire, while the Patent Rolls of 1439 mention a "Thomas Charyng" who was granted land in the county of Somerset.
During the late Middle Ages, the surname "CHARGING" began to spread beyond its original heartland in Oxfordshire to other parts of southern and central England. This was likely due to the increasing mobility of people during this period, as well as the practice of adopting hereditary surnames.
One notable individual with the surname "CHARGING" was Sir William Charging (c. 1495-1567), a Member of Parliament and landowner from Buckinghamshire. Another was John Charging (c. 1520-1589), a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of London.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the surname "CHARGING" continued to be found in various parts of England, with concentrations in counties such as Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Somerset. Notable individuals from this period include Richard Charging (1635-1718), a wealthy landowner and Justice of the Peace from Oxfordshire, and Mary Charging (1702-1781), a philanthropist and benefactor from Somerset.
As the centuries progressed, the surname "CHARGING" also began to appear in other parts of the English-speaking world, such as North America and Australia, as a result of migration and settlement. For example, Samuel Charging (1775-1847) was a farmer and early settler in Upper Canada (now Ontario), while Thomas Charging (1810-1892) was a convict transported to Tasmania in the early 19th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Charging
Among Census respondents with the surname Charging, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 70.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (14.5%) and White (10.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Charging 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 Charging surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- American Indian and Alaska Native70.0% · 77
- Two or more races14.5% · 16
- White10.9% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Charging
Charging 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
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+4 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 4,323 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.8%) | Up 4,323 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 Charging 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 | #153,769 | #149,446 | 2.8% |
| Count | 106 | 110 | 3.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Charging bearers went from 106 to 110 (+3.8% change). The surname moved up 4,323 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #149,446.
FAQ
Charging surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Charging?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Charging. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Charging?
Charging ranks #149,446 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 110 people with the surname Charging. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), 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 Charging.
Has Charging become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Charging went from 106 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 4 (+3.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #153,769 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Charging?
Among Census respondents with the surname Charging, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 70.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (14.5%) and White (10.9%). 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?
American Indian/Alaska Native is the largest self-reported group for the surname Charging in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.0% (77 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Charging appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are American Indian/Alaska Native (70.0%), Two or More Races (14.5%), White (10.9%). 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 Charging (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 Charging mean?
A surname derived from the Old English word "cærring," meaning a wheeled cart or wagon. 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 Charging (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 people have the last name Charging?
Want to know how many people have the last name Charging? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.