2000
#12,382
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,301
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Cleghorn
A Scottish locational surname derived from a place near Lanark, meaning "hayfield near a steep hollow."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,320 Americans carry the last name Cleghorn. That puts it at #14,247 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 147,739 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cleghorn 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 Cleghorn with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 147,739
Census rank
#14,247
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,023 bearers of the surname Cleghorn in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14247th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cleghorn, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Black (6.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cleghorn
The surname Cleghorn is of Scottish origin, deriving from the Clydesdale region of Scotland in the Middle Ages. The name is believed to be a locational surname, derived from the lands of Cleghorn in the parish of Covington and Thankertown in Lanarkshire.
The earliest recorded spelling of the name dates back to the 13th century, appearing as "de Clegyrne" in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a document recording those who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England during his invasion of Scotland. This suggests the name was well-established by the late 13th century in Scotland.
The name is thought to originate from the Old English words "clæg" meaning clay or clayland, and "hyrne" meaning a corner or nook, thus describing the geographic location of the lands from which the name is derived. The Cleghorn family was prominent landowners in this area during the medieval period.
One notable early bearer of the name was Sir Robert Cleghorn, a Scottish knight who fought alongside William Wallace and Robert the Bruce in the Scottish Wars of Independence against England in the early 14th century. His descendants continued to hold lands in Lanarkshire for several centuries.
Another prominent figure was William Cleghorn (1718-1754), a Scottish physician and botanist who served as a surgeon in the East India Company and made significant contributions to the study of Indian flora. He published several influential works on the subject during his lifetime.
In the 19th century, Andrew Cleghorn (1785-1841) was a Scottish horticulturist and botanist who introduced many new plant species to Scotland from his travels abroad. He served as the head gardener at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh for over three decades.
The name also has a long association with the legal profession in Scotland, including James Cleghorn (1778-1838), a prominent lawyer and legal writer, and Thomas Cleghorn (1820-1898), a Scottish judge and Senator of the College of Justice.
While the name originated in Scotland, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and has been borne by various notable individuals, such as Robert Cleghorn Bunten (1892-1968), a Canadian politician and lawyer.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cleghorn
Among Census respondents with the surname Cleghorn, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Black (6.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Cleghorn 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 Cleghorn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.6% · 1,732
- Black or African American6.0% · 121
- Two or more races4.4% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 63
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cleghorn
Cleghorn 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
#13,551
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,237
-64 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 1,169 places
2020
#14,247
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,023
-214 bearers (-9.6%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 696 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,382 | 2,301 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,551 | 2,237 | 0.76 | -64 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 1,169 places |
| 2020 | #14,247 | 2,023 | 0.68 | -214 bearers (-9.6%) | Down 696 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 Cleghorn 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 | #13,551 | #14,247 | -5.1% |
| Count | 2,237 | 2,023 | -9.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.76 | 0.68 | -10.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cleghorn bearers went from 2,237 to 2,023 (-9.6% change). The surname moved down 696 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,551 to #14,247.
FAQ
Cleghorn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cleghorn?
Name Census estimates that about 2,320 living Americans carry the surname Cleghorn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 147,739 residents.
How common is Cleghorn?
Cleghorn ranks #14,247 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.68 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 2,023 people with the surname Cleghorn. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,320), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.68 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 Cleghorn.
Has Cleghorn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cleghorn went from 2,237 recorded bearers to 2,023. That is a decrease of 214 (-9.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,551 to #14,247.
What does the Census say about the background of Cleghorn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cleghorn, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Black (6.0%) 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 Cleghorn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.6% (1,732 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cleghorn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.6%), Black (6.0%), 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 Cleghorn (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 Cleghorn mean?
A Scottish locational surname derived from a place near Lanark, meaning "hayfield near a steep hollow." 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 Cleghorn (0.68 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 Americans have the surname Cleghorn?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.