2000
#10,900
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,680
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.99
Rare Last name
Cremeans
Derived from a place name in Inverness-shire, Scotland, likely referring to a location with a creaman or "booth".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,753 Americans carry the last name Cremeans. That puts it at #12,355 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 124,502 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cremeans 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.
Bearers in the US
2.8K
1 in 124,502
Census rank
#12,355
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,401 bearers of the surname Cremeans in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12355th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cremeans, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (1.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cremeans
The surname Cremeans has its origins in the British Isles, specifically in England and Scotland. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "creman" or "crammian," which meant "to put in or insert." The name may have originally referred to a person who worked as a crammer or one who stuffed goods into containers or sacks.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from the year 1166, where it is spelled as "Cremain." This suggests that the name had already been established in the region by the 12th century.
In Scotland, the name appears in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of homages sworn to Edward I of England. The spelling used in this record is "Cremmyn," indicating the variation in the name's spelling during that period.
The Cremeans surname is also associated with several place names in England, such as Cremlyn in Cornwall and Cremilyn in Monmouthshire. These place names may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname in different regions.
One notable bearer of the Cremeans name was Sir William Cremeans, a Scottish knight who fought alongside Robert the Bruce in the Wars of Scottish Independence during the early 14th century.
Another individual of historical significance was John Cremeans, a Scottish merchant who was active in the late 16th century. He is recorded as having traded goods between Scotland and the Netherlands.
In the 17th century, a family by the name of Cremeans settled in the American colonies, specifically in Virginia. Thomas Cremeans, born in 1632, is believed to be one of the earliest bearers of the name in the New World.
The Cremeans surname also has connections to the English gentry. Sir John Cremeans, born in 1704, was a landowner and member of the local gentry in Gloucestershire.
Lastly, one cannot overlook the contribution of William Cremeans, a British soldier who served in the American Revolutionary War. He fought alongside the Continental Army and is recorded as having participated in several major battles, including the Battle of Monmouth in 1778.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cremeans
Among Census respondents with the surname Cremeans, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (1.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Cremeans 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 Cremeans surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0% · 2,210
- Two or more races4.9% · 118
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 39
- Black or African American0.7% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cremeans
Cremeans 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
#11,404
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,765
+85 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 504 places
2020
#12,355
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,401
-364 bearers (-13.2%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 951 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,900 | 2,680 | 0.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,404 | 2,765 | 0.94 | +85 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 504 places |
| 2020 | #12,355 | 2,401 | 0.80 | -364 bearers (-13.2%) | Down 951 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 Cremeans 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 | #11,404 | #12,355 | -8.3% |
| Count | 2,765 | 2,401 | -13.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.94 | 0.80 | -14.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cremeans bearers went from 2,765 to 2,401 (-13.2% change). The surname moved down 951 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,404 to #12,355.
FAQ
Cremeans surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cremeans?
Name Census estimates that about 2,753 living Americans carry the surname Cremeans. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 124,502 residents.
How common is Cremeans?
Cremeans ranks #12,355 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.80 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 2,401 people with the surname Cremeans. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,753), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.80 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 Cremeans.
Has Cremeans become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cremeans went from 2,765 recorded bearers to 2,401. That is a decrease of 364 (-13.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,404 to #12,355.
What does the Census say about the background of Cremeans?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cremeans, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (1.6%). 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 Cremeans in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (2,210 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cremeans appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.0%), Two or More Races (4.9%), Hispanic (1.6%). 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 Cremeans (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 Cremeans mean?
Derived from a place name in Inverness-shire, Scotland, likely referring to a location with a creaman or "booth". 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 Cremeans (0.80 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 Cremeans?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.