2010
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Cogill
A surname denoting someone from the town of Coghuill in Scotland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Cogill. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cogill 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Cogill in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cogill, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.6%) and Black (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cogill
The surname Cogill has its origins in England, specifically in the northern counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire. It is believed to have originated in the late 12th or early 13th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Old English words "cog," meaning hill or mound, and "hyll," meaning hill, essentially translating to "hill hill" or a double reference to a hill-like terrain.
Historically, the name Cogill is associated with the Pennine hills region of northern England, where it is believed the earliest bearers of the name lived and worked the land. The earliest recorded spelling of the name appears in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1204, where a Richard Cogill is mentioned.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landowners and tenants commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are references to places that may have influenced the surname's formation, such as Coghill in Yorkshire and Coggill in Lancashire.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Cogill was Robert Coghill, born around 1445 in Yorkshire. He was a notable landowner and served as the High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1467.
Another notable bearer of the Cogill surname was Sir John Coghill, born in 1592 in Yorkshire. He was a prominent English lawyer and Member of Parliament during the reign of King Charles I.
In the 17th century, a branch of the Cogill family settled in Ireland, where the name was sometimes anglicized to Coghill or Coghull. One of the earliest recorded Irish bearers of the name was Sir Cuthbert Coghill, born in 1608 in County Cork. He was a military officer and landowner who played a significant role in the Irish Confederate Wars.
During the 18th century, John Coghill, born in 1718 in Yorkshire, was a notable English clergyman and author. He served as the Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland from 1765 until his death in 1790.
In the 19th century, Sir Egerton Coghill, born in 1787 in Dublin, Ireland, was a distinguished British military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a Member of Parliament.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cogill
Among Census respondents with the surname Cogill, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.6%) and Black (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Cogill 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 Cogill surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.7% · 98
- Two or more races10.6% · 12
- Black or African American2.7% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cogill
Cogill appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-5 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,081 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 6,081 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 Cogill 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 | #141,140 | #147,221 | -4.3% |
| Count | 118 | 113 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cogill bearers went from 118 to 113 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 6,081 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #147,221.
FAQ
Cogill surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cogill?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Cogill. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Cogill?
Cogill ranks #147,221 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 113 people with the surname Cogill. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Cogill.
Has Cogill become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cogill went from 118 recorded bearers to 113. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Cogill?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cogill, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.6%) and Black (2.7%). 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 Cogill in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.7% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cogill appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.7%), Two or More Races (10.6%), Black (2.7%). 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 Cogill (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 Cogill mean?
A surname denoting someone from the town of Coghuill in Scotland. 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 Cogill (0.04 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 Cogill?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.