2000
#7,839
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,917
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.45
Rare Last name
Crank
An English occupational surname for a maker or seller of cranes, pulleys, or hoists.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,385 Americans carry the last name Crank. That puts it at #8,291 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 78,165 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Crank 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 Crank with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.4K
1 in 78,165
Census rank
#8,291
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,824 bearers of the surname Crank in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8291st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Crank, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.5%. The next largest groups are Black (11.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (8.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Crank
The surname CRANK originated in England in the late 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word "cranc", which means "a bend, turn or winding", likely referring to someone who lived near a crooked road or stream. Some early spelling variations of the name include Crank, Cranke, Cranck, and Craunk.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname CRANK can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275, where it is listed as "Reginald le Cranke". This suggests that the name was already well-established in the West Midlands region of England by the late medieval period.
In the 14th century, the name CRANK appears in various historical records, such as the Yorkshire Poll Tax Returns of 1379, where a "Johannes Cranke" is mentioned. This indicates that the name had spread to other parts of northern England by this time.
The CRANK surname is also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a major survey of landholdings commissioned by William the Conqueror. However, the exact reference is unclear, as the spelling of names in this document can be ambiguous.
Notable individuals with the surname CRANK include:
1. William Crank (c. 1640-1725), an English Quaker and early settler in Pennsylvania.
2. John Crank (1737-1819), an American soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War.
3. Isaac Crank (1789-1858), an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Tennessee.
4. James Crank (1824-1896), a Scottish-born Australian engineer and inventor of the Crank friction brake.
5. Andrew Crank (1908-1972), a British Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament for Northampton from 1945 to 1970.
The CRANK surname has also been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Crankhall in Lancashire and Crankley in Northumberland, which may have influenced the spelling and distribution of the name over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Crank
Among Census respondents with the surname Crank, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.5%. The next largest groups are Black (11.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (8.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Crank 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 Crank surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.5% · 2,811
- Black or African American11.1% · 426
- American Indian and Alaska Native8.0% · 307
- Two or more races4.3% · 163
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 109
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Crank
Crank 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
#7,873
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,204
+287 bearers (+7.3%)
Per 100,000 1.43
Rank movement Down 34 places
2020
#8,291
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,824
-380 bearers (-9.0%)
Per 100,000 1.28
Rank movement Down 418 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,839 | 3,917 | 1.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,873 | 4,204 | 1.43 | +287 bearers (+7.3%) | Down 34 places |
| 2020 | #8,291 | 3,824 | 1.28 | -380 bearers (-9.0%) | Down 418 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 Crank 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 | #7,873 | #8,291 | -5.3% |
| Count | 4,204 | 3,824 | -9.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.43 | 1.28 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Crank bearers went from 4,204 to 3,824 (-9.0% change). The surname moved down 418 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,873 to #8,291.
FAQ
Crank surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Crank?
Name Census estimates that about 4,385 living Americans carry the surname Crank. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 78,165 residents.
How common is Crank?
Crank ranks #8,291 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.28 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 3,824 people with the surname Crank. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,385), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.28 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 Crank.
Has Crank become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Crank went from 4,204 recorded bearers to 3,824. That is a decrease of 380 (-9.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,873 to #8,291.
What does the Census say about the background of Crank?
Among Census respondents with the surname Crank, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.5%. The next largest groups are Black (11.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (8.0%). 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 Crank in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.5% (2,811 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Crank appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.5%), Black (11.1%), American Indian/Alaska Native (8.0%). 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 Crank (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 Crank mean?
An English occupational surname for a maker or seller of cranes, pulleys, or hoists. 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 Crank (1.28 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 Crank?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Crank at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.