2000
#1,324
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,485
First available Census row
Per 100,000 9.08
Uncommon Last name
Childress
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "children's ridge" or "ridge frequented by children."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 27,111 Americans carry the last name Childress. That puts it at #1,469 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.91 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 12,643 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Childress 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
27K
1 in 12,643
Census rank
#1,469
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
24K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 23,642 bearers of the surname Childress in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.91 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1469th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Childress, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.0%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Childress
The surname Childress is of English origin, derived from the Old English words 'cild' meaning child and 'res' meaning a thicket or brushwood. It was initially a toponymic surname, referring to a person who lived near a thicket where children played or gathered.
The earliest known record of the name dates back to the 13th century, found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275, where it was spelled as 'Childres'. Over time, various spellings emerged, including Childers, Childresse, and Childrice.
One of the earliest notable bearers of the name was John Childress, a merchant from London, who lived in the late 16th century. His name appeared in the records of the Worshipful Company of Mercers, one of the oldest livery companies in the City of London.
During the 17th century, the Childress family established roots in Virginia, USA. One of the earliest settlers was Robert Childress, who arrived in the colony in 1635 and was granted land in what is now Isle of Wight County.
Another prominent figure was John Childress, born in 1692 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He served as a justice of the peace and was a member of the House of Burgesses, representing Westmoreland County from 1734 to 1740.
In the 18th century, Richard Childress, born in 1755 in North Carolina, fought in the American Revolutionary War and later became a successful planter and landowner in Tennessee.
The name Childress has also been associated with several place names, such as Childress County in Texas, named after George C. Childress, one of the signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836.
Other notable individuals with the surname Childress include Sarah Childress Polk, the wife of the 11th President of the United States, James K. Polk (1795-1849), and Richard Childress, a former NASCAR driver and current team owner, born in 1945.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Childress
Among Census respondents with the surname Childress, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.0%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Childress 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 Childress surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.1% · 17,752
- Black or African American16.0% · 3,779
- Two or more races4.8% · 1,129
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 709
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 140
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 133
Timeline
Historical Census data for Childress
Childress 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
#1,424
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,937
+452 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 8.45
Rank movement Down 100 places
2020
#1,469
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,642
-1,295 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 7.91
Rank movement Down 45 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,324 | 24,485 | 9.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,424 | 24,937 | 8.45 | +452 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 100 places |
| 2020 | #1,469 | 23,642 | 7.91 | -1,295 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 45 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 Childress 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 | #1,424 | #1,469 | -3.2% |
| Count | 24,937 | 23,642 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 8.45 | 7.91 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Childress bearers went from 24,937 to 23,642 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 45 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,424 to #1,469.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Childress
FAQ
Childress surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Childress?
Name Census estimates that about 27,111 living Americans carry the surname Childress. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 12,643 residents.
How common is Childress?
Childress ranks #1,469 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.91 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 23,642 people with the surname Childress. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (27,111), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.91 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.91 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Childress.
Has Childress become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Childress went from 24,937 recorded bearers to 23,642. That is a decrease of 1,295 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,424 to #1,469.
What does the Census say about the background of Childress?
Among Census respondents with the surname Childress, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.0%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Childress in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.1% (17,752 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Childress appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.1%), Black (16.0%), Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Childress (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 Childress mean?
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "children's ridge" or "ridge frequented by children." 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 Childress (7.91 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 common is the surname Childress?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Childress, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.