2000
#1,934
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.34
Uncommon Last name
Crain
An occupational surname referring to a crane operator or a person who worked with cranes or similar lifting devices.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 19,131 Americans carry the last name Crain. That puts it at #2,111 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.58 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 17,916 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Crain 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 Crain with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
19K
1 in 17,916
Census rank
#2,111
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,683 bearers of the surname Crain in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.58 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2111th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Crain, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.1%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Crain
The surname Crain has its origins in England, where it is believed to have first emerged in the late 12th or early 13th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Old English word "cran," meaning "crane," which likely referred to someone who lived near a place frequented by cranes or someone who worked with cranes in some capacity.
One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1208, which mention a William Cran. The surname is also documented in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1279, where it appears as "Cranne." These early spellings suggest that the name may have originally been a nickname or descriptive name before becoming a hereditary surname.
In the 14th century, the surname began to appear in various forms, including Craine, Crayne, and Crayn, reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling at the time. One notable bearer of the name from this period was John Craine, a merchant from London, who is mentioned in records from 1387.
The Crain surname can also be traced to certain place names in England, such as Crane Court in Hampshire and Crane Hall in Derbyshire. These locations may have influenced the development of the surname or served as places of origin for some Crain families.
Throughout history, the Crain surname has been associated with several notable individuals, including:
1. William Crain (c. 1460-1515), an English scholar and theologian who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge.
2. John Crain (c. 1590-1670), an English Puritan minister and author who emigrated to New England in the 1630s.
3. Matilda Crain (1825-1899), an American educator and author from New York, known for her writings on women's rights and education.
4. David Crain (1862-1935), an American politician who served as the 30th Governor of Arkansas from 1923 to 1925.
5. George Crain (1887-1942), an American film director and screenwriter best known for his work on several Charlie Chaplin films in the 1920s.
While the Crain surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, as a result of migration and settlement patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Crain
Among Census respondents with the surname Crain, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.1%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Crain 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 Crain surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.1% · 13,697
- Black or African American8.1% · 1,343
- Two or more races4.6% · 761
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 607
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 147
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 128
Timeline
Historical Census data for Crain
Crain 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
#2,038
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,650
+540 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 5.98
Rank movement Down 104 places
2020
#2,111
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,683
-967 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 5.58
Rank movement Down 73 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,934 | 17,110 | 6.34 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,038 | 17,650 | 5.98 | +540 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 104 places |
| 2020 | #2,111 | 16,683 | 5.58 | -967 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 73 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 Crain 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 | #2,038 | #2,111 | -3.6% |
| Count | 17,650 | 16,683 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 5.98 | 5.58 | -6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Crain bearers went from 17,650 to 16,683 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 73 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,038 to #2,111.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Crain
FAQ
Crain surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Crain?
Name Census estimates that about 19,131 living Americans carry the surname Crain. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 17,916 residents.
How common is Crain?
Crain ranks #2,111 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.58 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,683 people with the surname Crain. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (19,131), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.58 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.58 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Crain.
Has Crain become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Crain went from 17,650 recorded bearers to 16,683. That is a decrease of 967 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,038 to #2,111.
What does the Census say about the background of Crain?
Among Census respondents with the surname Crain, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.1%) and Two or More Races (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 Crain in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.1% (13,697 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Crain appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.1%), Black (8.1%), Two or More Races (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 Crain (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 Crain mean?
An occupational surname referring to a crane operator or a person who worked with cranes or similar lifting devices. 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 Crain (5.58 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 Crain?
See how many people are called Crain on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.