2000
#10,725
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,731
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.01
Rare Last name
Churchwell
Derived from a place name meaning "spring or stream by a church," referring to someone who lived near a church well.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,022 Americans carry the last name Churchwell. That puts it at #11,436 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 113,420 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Churchwell 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
3.0K
1 in 113,420
Census rank
#11,436
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,635 bearers of the surname Churchwell in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11436th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Churchwell, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.4%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Churchwell
The surname Churchwell is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and it first appeared in England in the early Middle Ages. The name is derived from the Old English words "cirice" meaning church and "wielle" meaning a spring or stream, suggesting that the original bearers of this name lived near a church or a spring.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Churchwell can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landowners and tenants in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The entry mentions a "Ciricewelle" in Wiltshire, which is believed to be a reference to a place name that later evolved into Churchwell.
In the 13th century, the name appeared in various records as "Chirchewell" and "Churchewell", reflecting the evolution of the spelling over time. During this period, the surname was primarily concentrated in the counties of Wiltshire, Somerset, and Gloucestershire, where several families bearing this name were established.
One notable bearer of the Churchwell surname was John Churchwell, a wealthy merchant and landowner who lived in Bristol, England, in the late 15th century. He is recorded as having donated funds for the construction of the Church of St. John the Baptist in Bristol in 1487.
Another prominent figure was Sir Thomas Churchwell (1536-1612), who served as a Member of Parliament for Wiltshire and was appointed as a Justice of the Peace for the county. He was also a respected landowner and held several estates in the region.
In the 17th century, the Churchwell family expanded their influence, with members holding positions of importance in various parts of England. One such individual was Richard Churchwell (1611-1680), a clergyman who served as the Vicar of Bridgwater in Somerset and was known for his scholarly works on theology.
During the English Civil War, Captain William Churchwell (1620-1689) fought on the Parliamentarian side and played a role in the siege of Bristol in 1645. He later settled in Wiltshire and was granted lands in recognition of his military service.
The Churchwell surname also found its way across the Atlantic, with several families emigrating to the American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries. One of the earliest recorded instances is that of John Churchwell, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 and established a plantation in the colony.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Churchwell
Among Census respondents with the surname Churchwell, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.4%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Churchwell 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 Churchwell surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.4% · 1,987
- Black or African American15.5% · 408
- Two or more races4.4% · 117
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 83
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Churchwell
Churchwell 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
#11,423
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,758
+27 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Down 698 places
2020
#11,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,635
-123 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 13 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,725 | 2,731 | 1.01 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,423 | 2,758 | 0.93 | +27 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 698 places |
| 2020 | #11,436 | 2,635 | 0.88 | -123 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 13 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 Churchwell 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 | #11,423 | #11,436 | -0.1% |
| Count | 2,758 | 2,635 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.93 | 0.88 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Churchwell bearers went from 2,758 to 2,635 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 13 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,423 to #11,436.
FAQ
Churchwell surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Churchwell?
Name Census estimates that about 3,022 living Americans carry the surname Churchwell. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 113,420 residents.
How common is Churchwell?
Churchwell ranks #11,436 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.88 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 2,635 people with the surname Churchwell. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,022), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.88 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 Churchwell.
Has Churchwell become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Churchwell went from 2,758 recorded bearers to 2,635. That is a decrease of 123 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,423 to #11,436.
What does the Census say about the background of Churchwell?
Among Census respondents with the surname Churchwell, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.4%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Churchwell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.4% (1,987 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Churchwell appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.4%), Black (15.5%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Churchwell (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 Churchwell mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "spring or stream by a church," referring to someone who lived near a church well. 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 Churchwell (0.88 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 Churchwell?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Churchwell at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.