2000
#8,307
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,667
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.36
Rare Last name
Coddington
Derived from a place name meaning "the settlement of Cōtta's people" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,710 Americans carry the last name Coddington. That puts it at #9,604 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 92,387 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Coddington 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 Coddington with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.7K
1 in 92,387
Census rank
#9,604
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,235 bearers of the surname Coddington in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9604th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Coddington, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Coddington
The surname Coddington has its origins in England, likely emerging in the late medieval period around the 13th or 14th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "cod" meaning a small bag or pouch, and "ing" which denotes a group or family, suggesting it may have originally referred to a family or group associated with the production or use of small bags or pouches.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, where it appears as "Codynton." This early spelling variation highlights the name's connection to a place, potentially a town or village where the family originated.
The Coddington name is also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, the famous record of landholdings commissioned by William the Conqueror. Here, it appears as "Codintone," referring to a settlement in the county of Nottinghamshire.
Over time, the name has been associated with various places in England, particularly the village of Coddington in Nottinghamshire and the parish of Coddington in Cheshire. These place names likely contributed to the surname's spread and evolution.
Notable historical figures with the Coddington surname include:
1. William Coddington (c. 1601-1678), an early colonial settler and founder of Rhode Island, who served as the first governor of the colony.
2. John Coddington (1576-1638), an English settler in Virginia and one of the earliest colonists of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
3. Reverend Hannibal Coddington (1638-1710), an English clergyman and author who served as the Archdeacon of Lincoln.
4. Sir Samuel Coddington (c. 1635-1691), an English merchant and Member of Parliament for Dunwich, Suffolk.
5. Richard Coddington (1667-1738), an English politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Wenlock, Shropshire.
While the Coddington surname has evolved over the centuries, its roots can be traced back to medieval England, where it likely originated as a descriptive name associated with a particular trade or location.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Coddington
Among Census respondents with the surname Coddington, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Coddington 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 Coddington surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.6% · 2,900
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 145
- Two or more races3.8% · 123
- Black or African American1.0% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Coddington
Coddington 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
#8,509
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,871
+204 bearers (+5.6%)
Per 100,000 1.31
Rank movement Down 202 places
2020
#9,604
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,235
-636 bearers (-16.4%)
Per 100,000 1.08
Rank movement Down 1,095 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,307 | 3,667 | 1.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,509 | 3,871 | 1.31 | +204 bearers (+5.6%) | Down 202 places |
| 2020 | #9,604 | 3,235 | 1.08 | -636 bearers (-16.4%) | Down 1,095 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 Coddington 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 | #8,509 | #9,604 | -12.9% |
| Count | 3,871 | 3,235 | -16.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.31 | 1.08 | -17.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Coddington bearers went from 3,871 to 3,235 (-16.4% change). The surname moved down 1,095 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,509 to #9,604.
FAQ
Coddington surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Coddington?
Name Census estimates that about 3,710 living Americans carry the surname Coddington. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 92,387 residents.
How common is Coddington?
Coddington ranks #9,604 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.08 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 3,235 people with the surname Coddington. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,710), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.08 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 Coddington.
Has Coddington become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Coddington went from 3,871 recorded bearers to 3,235. That is a decrease of 636 (-16.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,509 to #9,604.
What does the Census say about the background of Coddington?
Among Census respondents with the surname Coddington, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Coddington in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (2,900 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Coddington appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.6%), Hispanic (4.5%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Coddington (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 Coddington mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "the settlement of Cōtta's people" in Old English. 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 Coddington (1.08 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 Coddington?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Coddington at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.