2000
#13,473
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,071
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.77
Rare Last name
Corner
An occupational surname referring to someone who lived on a corner or worked as a coroner.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,242 Americans carry the last name Corner. That puts it at #14,620 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.65 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 152,879 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Corner 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 Corner with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 152,879
Census rank
#14,620
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,955 bearers of the surname Corner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.65 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14620th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Corner, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.7%. The next largest groups are Black (20.3%) and Hispanic (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Corner
The surname Corner is of English origin, deriving from an occupational name for someone who lived on a corner or an angular piece of land. It is derived from the Old English word "corner," meaning a corner or angle. The name can be traced back to the late 12th century in England.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Corner is found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1199, where a person named Willelmus de Cornere is mentioned. The spelling variations of the name during the medieval period included Cornere, Cornur, and Cornour.
The Corner surname appears in various historical records, such as the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, where a person named William atte Cornere is listed. The Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1296 also mention a John de la Cornere.
In the 14th century, the surname was sometimes associated with place names, such as Robert de la Cornere from Westmeston, Sussex, recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of 1327. The name was also found in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1381, where a Thomas Cornere is mentioned.
Notable individuals with the surname Corner include Sir Neville Corner (c. 1518-1589), an English politician and member of parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Another notable bearer of the name was John Corner (1576-1651), an English clergyman and academic who served as the President of Magdalen College, Oxford.
In the 17th century, John Corner (1619-1687) was an English physician and botanist who made significant contributions to the study of plant biology. He is best known for his work "Plantarum Historiae Universalis Oxoniensis" published in 1670.
Thomas Corner (1690-1752) was an English clergyman and academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1745 to 1746.
In the 19th century, Edward Corner (1819-1894) was an English clergyman and author who wrote several works on religious subjects.
These examples demonstrate the historical presence and significance of the surname Corner, tracing its origins back to medieval England and highlighting notable individuals who bore this name throughout different periods.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Corner
Among Census respondents with the surname Corner, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.7%. The next largest groups are Black (20.3%) and Hispanic (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Corner 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 Corner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.7% · 1,382
- Black or African American20.3% · 396
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 90
- Two or more races3.8% · 75
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Corner
Corner 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
#13,477
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,256
+185 bearers (+8.9%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 4 places
2020
#14,620
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,955
-301 bearers (-13.3%)
Per 100,000 0.65
Rank movement Down 1,143 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,473 | 2,071 | 0.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,477 | 2,256 | 0.76 | +185 bearers (+8.9%) | Down 4 places |
| 2020 | #14,620 | 1,955 | 0.65 | -301 bearers (-13.3%) | Down 1,143 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 Corner 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 | #13,477 | #14,620 | -8.5% |
| Count | 2,256 | 1,955 | -13.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.76 | 0.65 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Corner bearers went from 2,256 to 1,955 (-13.3% change). The surname moved down 1,143 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,477 to #14,620.
FAQ
Corner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Corner?
Name Census estimates that about 2,242 living Americans carry the surname Corner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 152,879 residents.
How common is Corner?
Corner ranks #14,620 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.65 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 1,955 people with the surname Corner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,242), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.65 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.65 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 Corner.
Has Corner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Corner went from 2,256 recorded bearers to 1,955. That is a decrease of 301 (-13.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,477 to #14,620.
What does the Census say about the background of Corner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Corner, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.7%. The next largest groups are Black (20.3%) and Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Corner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.7% (1,382 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Corner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (70.7%), Black (20.3%), Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Corner (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 Corner mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who lived on a corner or worked as a coroner. 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 Corner (0.65 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 have the last name Corner?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Corner, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.