2010
#160,975
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Colthorp
A topographic surname derived from a hilly or ridged settlement.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Colthorp. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Colthorp 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
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Colthorp in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Colthorp, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Colthorp
The surname Colthorp has its roots in England, originating in the medieval period. It is a locational name derived from the place Colthorp, a small hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The name likely stems from the Old English words "col" meaning charcoal, and "throp" meaning a village or settlement.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Coletorp." This reference suggests that the name was already well-established in Yorkshire by the late 11th century.
In the 13th century, records show a Walter de Colthorp holding lands in Yorkshire. This indicates that the family had achieved a certain degree of prominence and status in the region by this time.
During the 14th century, the name appears in various spellings, including Colethorpe, Colthorpe, and Colthroppe. This variation in spelling was common in medieval times due to the lack of standardized orthography.
One notable figure bearing the name was Sir John Colthorp, a 15th-century knight who served as a member of Parliament for Yorkshire in the late 1400s. He was also a distinguished military commander during the Wars of the Roses.
In the 16th century, the Colthorp family established themselves in Lincolnshire, where they acquired considerable landholdings. A prominent member of this branch was Sir Henry Colthorp (c.1550-1628), who served as a justice of the peace and was knighted by King James I.
Another significant individual was John Colthorp (1601-1659), a Puritan minister and writer who was a vocal opponent of the Anglican Church during the English Civil War. He authored several religious tracts and was a chaplain in the Parliamentarian army.
The Colthorp name also appears in the records of the Virginia Company, which established the first permanent English settlement in North America. In 1619, a Thomas Colthorp is listed as arriving in Virginia aboard the ship "Prosperous."
As the centuries progressed, the Colthorp family continued to maintain a notable presence in various parts of England, with branches scattered across counties like Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk. Notable individuals include Sir George Colthorp (1676-1740), a baronet and member of Parliament, and Rev. John Colthorp (1701-1773), a Church of England clergyman and author.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Colthorp
Among Census respondents with the surname Colthorp, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Colthorp 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 Colthorp surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 101
Timeline
Historical Census data for Colthorp
Colthorp 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
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
+1 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 5,705 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #160,975 | 100 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | +1 bearers (+1.0%) | Up 5,705 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 Colthorp 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 | #160,975 | #155,270 | 3.5% |
| Count | 100 | 101 | 1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 12.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Colthorp bearers went from 100 to 101 (+1.0% change). The surname moved up 5,705 positions in the national ranking, going from #160,975 to #155,270.
FAQ
Colthorp surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Colthorp?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Colthorp. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Colthorp?
Colthorp ranks #155,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 101 people with the surname Colthorp. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Colthorp.
Has Colthorp become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Colthorp went from 100 recorded bearers to 101. That is an increase of 1 (+1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #160,975 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Colthorp?
Among Census respondents with the surname Colthorp, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Colthorp in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Colthorp appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Colthorp (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 Colthorp mean?
A topographic surname derived from a hilly or ridged settlement. 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 Colthorp (0.03 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 Colthorp?
See how many Americans have the surname Colthorp on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.