2000
#13,675
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,034
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.75
Rare Last name
Clopton
From a place name meaning "town on a hill" in Old English, likely referring to Clopton, Suffolk.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,342 Americans carry the last name Clopton. That puts it at #14,118 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 146,351 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Clopton 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
2.3K
1 in 146,351
Census rank
#14,118
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,042 bearers of the surname Clopton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14118th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Clopton, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.8%. The next largest groups are Black (32.3%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Clopton
The surname Clopton originated in England during the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "clop" meaning a lump or hill, and "tun" meaning a town or village. This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived near a distinctive hill or mound.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Clopton" in reference to a settlement in Oxfordshire. This area is likely where the name first emerged, possibly as a descriptive identifier for the location.
In the 13th century, the name appears in various forms such as "de Clopton" and "Clopton de Clopton," indicating a connection to a specific place called Clopton. This practice of adding the place name to a surname was common during this time.
Notable individuals bearing the Clopton surname include Sir Hugh de Clopton (c.1265-1337), a wealthy landowner and Lord Mayor of London in 1332. Another prominent figure was Sir Walter de Clopton (c.1350-1415), a member of Parliament and military commander during the Hundred Years' War.
In the 16th century, William Clopton (c.1500-1592) was a prominent lawyer and judge who served as a Justice of the King's Bench during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. His son, Walter Clopton (c.1550-1616), was also a respected barrister and Member of Parliament.
The Clopton family had strong connections to the county of Warwickshire, where they owned estates and manors, including Clopton House, a historic manor house dating back to the 15th century.
Other notable bearers of the Clopton name include Reverend William Clopton (1692-1774), a clergyman and author who wrote several religious works, and Captain Jared Clopton (1758-1814), an American Revolutionary War officer and early settler in Kentucky.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Clopton
Among Census respondents with the surname Clopton, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.8%. The next largest groups are Black (32.3%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Clopton 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 Clopton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.8% · 1,181
- Black or African American32.3% · 659
- Two or more races4.8% · 98
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 65
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Clopton
Clopton 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
#13,976
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,157
+123 bearers (+6.0%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 301 places
2020
#14,118
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,042
-115 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 142 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,675 | 2,034 | 0.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,976 | 2,157 | 0.73 | +123 bearers (+6.0%) | Down 301 places |
| 2020 | #14,118 | 2,042 | 0.68 | -115 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 142 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 Clopton 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 | #13,976 | #14,118 | -1.0% |
| Count | 2,157 | 2,042 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.73 | 0.68 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Clopton bearers went from 2,157 to 2,042 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 142 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,976 to #14,118.
FAQ
Clopton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Clopton?
Name Census estimates that about 2,342 living Americans carry the surname Clopton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 146,351 residents.
How common is Clopton?
Clopton ranks #14,118 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 2,042 people with the surname Clopton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,342), 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 Clopton.
Has Clopton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Clopton went from 2,157 recorded bearers to 2,042. That is a decrease of 115 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,976 to #14,118.
What does the Census say about the background of Clopton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Clopton, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.8%. The next largest groups are Black (32.3%) 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 Clopton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.8% (1,181 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Clopton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (57.8%), Black (32.3%), 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 Clopton (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 Clopton mean?
From a place name meaning "town on a hill" in Old English, likely referring to Clopton, Suffolk. 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 Clopton (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 people have the last name Clopton?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Clopton at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.