2000
#10,217
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,895
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.07
Rare Last name
Collie
A Scottish and Irish surname likely derived from a place name or referring to someone from Coll.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,220 Americans carry the last name Collie. That puts it at #10,835 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 106,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Collie 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 Collie with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.2K
1 in 106,445
Census rank
#10,835
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,808 bearers of the surname Collie in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10835th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Collie, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.3%. The next largest groups are Black (21.0%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Collie
The surname Collie is of Scottish origin and is believed to have originated in the 16th or 17th century. It likely derives from the Scots word "col" or "coll," which means a young cow or calf, suggesting that the name may have been an occupational surname for a cattle herder or someone who worked with calves.
The earliest known record of the surname Collie dates back to the late 16th century. One of the earliest recorded instances is in the Parish Records of Dumfries, Scotland, where a William Collie is mentioned in 1586. Another early record is from the Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland, which mentions a John Collie in 1592.
In the 17th century, the surname Collie appears in various Scottish records, including the Parish Registers of Lanarkshire, where a James Collie is recorded in 1642, and the Parish Registers of Banchory-Ternan, where a Thomas Collie is mentioned in 1674.
One notable individual bearing the surname Collie was David Collie (1711-1765), a Scottish minister and theologian who served as the Principal of the University of Edinburgh from 1762 until his death.
Another famous Collie was Alexander Collie (1793-1835), a Scottish botanist and surgeon who participated in several explorations in Australia and South Africa. He was responsible for collecting and identifying numerous plant species.
In the 19th century, John Norman Collie (1859-1942) was a Scottish chemist and academic who made significant contributions to the study of ring compounds and held positions at University College London and the University of Cambridge.
Samuel Collie (1835-1905) was a Scottish-born artist and illustrator who worked in Australia and is renowned for his paintings depicting scenes of rural life in colonial Australia.
The surname Collie has also been associated with various place names in Scotland, such as Collie Law, a hill in the Scottish Borders, and Collie Hill, a location in Angus.
While the surname Collie is predominantly Scottish, it has also been found in other parts of the United Kingdom and in countries with Scottish immigration, such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Collie
Among Census respondents with the surname Collie, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.3%. The next largest groups are Black (21.0%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Collie 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 Collie surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.3% · 2,001
- Black or African American21.0% · 589
- Two or more races3.6% · 101
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 76
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Collie
Collie 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
#10,860
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,933
+38 bearers (+1.3%)
Per 100,000 0.99
Rank movement Down 643 places
2020
#10,835
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,808
-125 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Up 25 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,217 | 2,895 | 1.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,860 | 2,933 | 0.99 | +38 bearers (+1.3%) | Down 643 places |
| 2020 | #10,835 | 2,808 | 0.94 | -125 bearers (-4.3%) | Up 25 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 Collie 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 | #10,860 | #10,835 | 0.2% |
| Count | 2,933 | 2,808 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.99 | 0.94 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Collie bearers went from 2,933 to 2,808 (-4.3% change). The surname moved up 25 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,860 to #10,835.
FAQ
Collie surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Collie?
Name Census estimates that about 3,220 living Americans carry the surname Collie. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 106,445 residents.
How common is Collie?
Collie ranks #10,835 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.94 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 2,808 people with the surname Collie. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,220), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.94 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 Collie.
Has Collie become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Collie went from 2,933 recorded bearers to 2,808. That is a decrease of 125 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,860 to #10,835.
What does the Census say about the background of Collie?
Among Census respondents with the surname Collie, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.3%. The next largest groups are Black (21.0%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Collie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.3% (2,001 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Collie appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (71.3%), Black (21.0%), Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Collie (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 Collie mean?
A Scottish and Irish surname likely derived from a place name or referring to someone from Coll. 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 Collie (0.94 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 share the surname Collie?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.