2000
#12,389
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,299
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Cornwall
A locational surname referring to someone from the county of Cornwall in southwest England.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,913 Americans carry the last name Cornwall. That puts it at #11,793 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 117,664 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cornwall 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 Cornwall with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 117,664
Census rank
#11,793
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,540 bearers of the surname Cornwall in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11793rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cornwall, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.8%. The next largest groups are Black (20.4%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cornwall
The surname Cornwall has its origins in the county of Cornwall in the South West of England. It is an English locational surname derived from the Old English words "corn" meaning grain and "walh" meaning foreigner or stranger, likely referring to the Britons who lived in that region before the Anglo-Saxon invasion and settlement.
The earliest recorded reference to the name Cornwall can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Cornualia" and "Cornugallia." This suggests that the name has been in use since at least the late 11th century.
In the 12th century, the name is recorded as "de Cornubia" and "de Cornualle" in various medieval records, reflecting the Norman French influence on English surnames at the time.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was Richard de Cornwall, who was the Earl of Cornwall and the second son of King John of England. He was born in 1209 and died in 1272.
Another notable figure with the surname Cornwall was John Cornwall, a 14th-century English philosopher and theologian who was born around 1320 and died in 1389.
In the 15th century, the name is found in its modern spelling "Cornwall" in various records, such as those of William Cornwall, a member of Parliament for Somerset in 1449.
During the Tudor period, Sir John Cornwall was a notable figure who served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1561.
In the 17th century, Sir William Cornwall was a prominent English merchant and Member of Parliament who lived from 1589 to 1677.
The surname Cornwall has also been associated with several place names in England, such as Cornwall Park in London and Cornwall Terrace in Bayswater, reflecting the historical connections between the name and the county.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cornwall
Among Census respondents with the surname Cornwall, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.8%. The next largest groups are Black (20.4%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Cornwall 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 Cornwall surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.8% · 1,774
- Black or African American20.4% · 519
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 107
- Two or more races4.1% · 105
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cornwall
Cornwall 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
#12,285
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,531
+232 bearers (+10.1%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Up 104 places
2020
#11,793
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,540
+9 bearers (+0.4%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Up 492 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,389 | 2,299 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,285 | 2,531 | 0.86 | +232 bearers (+10.1%) | Up 104 places |
| 2020 | #11,793 | 2,540 | 0.85 | +9 bearers (+0.4%) | Up 492 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 Cornwall 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 | #12,285 | #11,793 | 4.0% |
| Count | 2,531 | 2,540 | 0.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.86 | 0.85 | -1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cornwall bearers went from 2,531 to 2,540 (+0.4% change). The surname moved up 492 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,285 to #11,793.
FAQ
Cornwall surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cornwall?
Name Census estimates that about 2,913 living Americans carry the surname Cornwall. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 117,664 residents.
How common is Cornwall?
Cornwall ranks #11,793 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.85 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 2,540 people with the surname Cornwall. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,913), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.85 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 Cornwall.
Has Cornwall become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cornwall went from 2,531 recorded bearers to 2,540. That is an increase of 9 (+0.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,285 to #11,793.
What does the Census say about the background of Cornwall?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cornwall, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.8%. The next largest groups are Black (20.4%) and Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Cornwall in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.8% (1,774 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cornwall appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (69.8%), Black (20.4%), Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Cornwall (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 Cornwall mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from the county of Cornwall in southwest England. 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 Cornwall (0.85 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 Cornwall?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.