2000
#10,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,883
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.07
Rare Last name
Coolidge
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "cool edge" or "cool pasture" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,249 Americans carry the last name Coolidge. That puts it at #10,758 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.95 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 105,495 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Coolidge 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
3.2K
1 in 105,495
Census rank
#10,758
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,833 bearers of the surname Coolidge in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.95 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10758th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Coolidge, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Coolidge
The surname Coolidge is of English origin and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is believed to have originated from the Old English words 'col' meaning cool or cold, and 'hrycg' meaning ridge or hill. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a cool or cold ridge or hill.
The earliest recorded spelling of the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk in 1195, where it appears as Colrigge. Other early spellings include Colridge, Colrugge, and Coolridge. These variations in spelling were common in the Middle Ages due to the lack of standardized spelling conventions.
The Coolidge surname is closely associated with the village of Coolidge in Somerset, England. This place name is derived from the same Old English words and is first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Colrigia.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was William Coolidge, who was born in Arrington, Cambridgeshire, in 1604. He later emigrated to New England and became one of the founders of the town of Watertown, Massachusetts.
Another notable figure with the Coolidge surname was Thomas Coolidge, born in 1642 in Hingham, Massachusetts. He was a prominent landowner and served as a selectman in the town of Watertown.
In the 18th century, Joseph Coolidge, born in 1678 in Watertown, Massachusetts, was a successful merchant and landowner. He was also a deacon in the Congregational Church and served as a selectman for the town.
One of the most famous individuals with the Coolidge surname is Calvin Coolidge, who served as the 30th President of the United States from 1923 to 1929. He was born in 1872 in Plymouth, Vermont.
Another notable figure is Martha Coolidge, an American film director and screenwriter born in 1946. She is best known for directing films such as "Valley Girl" and "Rambling Rose."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Coolidge
Among Census respondents with the surname Coolidge, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Coolidge 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 Coolidge surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.4% · 2,503
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 106
- Two or more races2.8% · 78
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 65
- Black or African American1.9% · 54
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 27
Timeline
Historical Census data for Coolidge
Coolidge 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
#10,782
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,958
+75 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 1.00
Rank movement Down 529 places
2020
#10,758
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,833
-125 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Up 24 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,253 | 2,883 | 1.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,782 | 2,958 | 1.00 | +75 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 529 places |
| 2020 | #10,758 | 2,833 | 0.95 | -125 bearers (-4.2%) | Up 24 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 Coolidge 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 | #10,782 | #10,758 | 0.2% |
| Count | 2,958 | 2,833 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.00 | 0.95 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Coolidge bearers went from 2,958 to 2,833 (-4.2% change). The surname moved up 24 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,782 to #10,758.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Coolidge
FAQ
Coolidge surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Coolidge?
Name Census estimates that about 3,249 living Americans carry the surname Coolidge. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 105,495 residents.
How common is Coolidge?
Coolidge ranks #10,758 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.95 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 2,833 people with the surname Coolidge. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,249), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.95 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.95 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 Coolidge.
Has Coolidge become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Coolidge went from 2,958 recorded bearers to 2,833. That is a decrease of 125 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,782 to #10,758.
What does the Census say about the background of Coolidge?
Among Census respondents with the surname Coolidge, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Coolidge in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.4% (2,503 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Coolidge appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.4%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Coolidge (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 Coolidge mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "cool edge" or "cool pasture" 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 Coolidge (0.95 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 Coolidge?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.