2000
#1,272
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,403
First available Census row
Per 100,000 9.42
Uncommon Last name
Covington
From a place name meaning "Cufa's settlement" in Old English, derived from an Old English personal name and "tun" (settlement, town).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 29,998 Americans carry the last name Covington. That puts it at #1,317 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 11,426 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Covington 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 Covington with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
30K
1 in 11,426
Census rank
#1,317
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
26K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 26,160 bearers of the surname Covington in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1317th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Covington, the largest self-reported group is White at 47.2%. The next largest groups are Black (43.5%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Covington
The surname Covington is of English origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is a locational name, derived from the place name Covington, which is found in several counties across England, including Huntingdonshire, Shropshire, and Staffordshire. The name is believed to be composed of the Old English words "cofa," meaning a cave or den, and "tun," meaning a farm or village, suggesting that the name originally referred to a settlement near a cave or den.
One of the earliest records of the name Covington can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a landowner named William de Covington in Huntingdonshire. This indicates that the name was already well-established by the late 11th century. Another early reference is found in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire from 1166, which mention a Robert de Covington.
The surname Covington has undergone several spelling variations over the centuries, including Covington, Covyngton, Covinton, and Covingtone. These variations reflect the evolution of the English language and the inconsistencies in spelling during the medieval and early modern periods.
Among notable individuals with the surname Covington throughout history are:
1. Sir John Covington (c. 1380-1452), an English soldier and Member of Parliament during the Hundred Years' War.
2. Sir Thomas Covington (c. 1540-1629), an English landowner and Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
3. Robert Covington (1735-1813), an American soldier and pioneer who fought in the Revolutionary War and later settled in Kentucky.
4. Leonard Covington (1768-1813), an American military officer who served in the War of 1812 and was killed in the Battle of Crysler's Farm.
5. Walter Covington (1876-1965), an American jurist who served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Carolina from 1944 to 1953.
These examples demonstrate the wide geographic spread and historical significance of the surname Covington, which has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including soldiers, politicians, landowners, and jurists, across multiple centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Covington
Among Census respondents with the surname Covington, the largest self-reported group is White at 47.2%. The next largest groups are Black (43.5%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Covington 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 Covington surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.2% · 12,341
- Black or African American43.5% · 11,382
- Two or more races5.0% · 1,306
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 818
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 179
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 134
Timeline
Historical Census data for Covington
Covington 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
#1,298
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 27,068
+1,665 bearers (+6.6%)
Per 100,000 9.18
Rank movement Down 26 places
2020
#1,317
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,160
-908 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 8.75
Rank movement Down 19 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,272 | 25,403 | 9.42 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,298 | 27,068 | 9.18 | +1,665 bearers (+6.6%) | Down 26 places |
| 2020 | #1,317 | 26,160 | 8.75 | -908 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 19 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 Covington 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 | #1,298 | #1,317 | -1.5% |
| Count | 27,068 | 26,160 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 9.18 | 8.75 | -4.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Covington bearers went from 27,068 to 26,160 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 19 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,298 to #1,317.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Covington
FAQ
Covington surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Covington?
Name Census estimates that about 29,998 living Americans carry the surname Covington. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 11,426 residents.
How common is Covington?
Covington ranks #1,317 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.75 per 100,000 residents, which is about 9 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 26,160 people with the surname Covington. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (29,998), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.75 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 9 of them to have the surname Covington.
Has Covington become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Covington went from 27,068 recorded bearers to 26,160. That is a decrease of 908 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,298 to #1,317.
What does the Census say about the background of Covington?
Among Census respondents with the surname Covington, the largest self-reported group is White at 47.2%. The next largest groups are Black (43.5%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Covington in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.2% (12,341 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Covington appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (47.2%), Black (43.5%), Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Covington (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 Covington mean?
From a place name meaning "Cufa's settlement" in Old English, derived from an Old English personal name and "tun" (settlement, town). 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 Covington (8.75 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 Covington?
Want to know how common the surname Covington is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.