2000
#10,737
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,728
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.01
Rare Last name
Crispin
Derived from a medieval French nickname meaning "curly-haired" or referring to someone with curly hair.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,438 Americans carry the last name Crispin. That puts it at #10,228 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 99,696 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Crispin 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 Crispin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.4K
1 in 99,696
Census rank
#10,228
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,998 bearers of the surname Crispin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10228th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Crispin, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 47.8%. The next largest groups are White (44.2%) and Black (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Crispin
The surname Crispin originated in France and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the first name Crispin, which itself comes from the Latin word "crispus" meaning "curly-haired".
One of the earliest records of the name Crispin can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears in various spellings such as Crispin, Crispyn, and Crispine. These entries suggest that the name was already well-established in England by the time of the Norman Conquest.
The name Crispin is also associated with the legend of the Christian saints Crispin and Crispinian, who were martyred in the 3rd century AD. Their feast day, celebrated on October 25th, was a popular occasion for shoemakers to hold festivals and parades, as the saints were believed to be the patron saints of shoemakers.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname Crispin was Geoffroy Crispin, a Norman nobleman who lived in the late 11th century. He was a prominent figure during the reign of William the Conqueror and held lands in Somerset, England.
Another notable figure with the surname Crispin was Thomas Crispin (c. 1400 - c. 1460), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Chancellor of the University of Oxford in the mid-15th century.
In the 16th century, the surname Crispin was found in various spellings such as Crispen, Crispine, and Crispyn. One bearer of the name during this period was Sir Henry Crispin (c. 1520 - 1575), an English politician and Member of Parliament.
The name Crispin also has associations with various place names in England, such as Crispin Street in London and Crispin Lane in Yorkshire. These place names likely derived from individuals bearing the surname Crispin who lived in or owned land in those areas.
Other notable individuals with the surname Crispin include the English poet and playwright Robert Crispin (1669 - 1728), and the French author and journalist Jacques Crispin (1598 - 1663), who was a prominent figure in the Fronde, a series of civil wars in France during the 17th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Crispin
Among Census respondents with the surname Crispin, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 47.8%. The next largest groups are White (44.2%) and Black (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Crispin 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 Crispin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino47.8% · 1,433
- White44.2% · 1,324
- Black or African American3.9% · 116
- Two or more races2.1% · 62
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 38
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 25
Timeline
Historical Census data for Crispin
Crispin 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
#9,735
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,330
+602 bearers (+22.1%)
Per 100,000 1.13
Rank movement Up 1,002 places
2020
#10,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,998
-332 bearers (-10.0%)
Per 100,000 1.00
Rank movement Down 493 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,737 | 2,728 | 1.01 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,735 | 3,330 | 1.13 | +602 bearers (+22.1%) | Up 1,002 places |
| 2020 | #10,228 | 2,998 | 1.00 | -332 bearers (-10.0%) | Down 493 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 Crispin 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 | #9,735 | #10,228 | -5.1% |
| Count | 3,330 | 2,998 | -10.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.13 | 1.00 | -11.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Crispin bearers went from 3,330 to 2,998 (-10.0% change). The surname moved down 493 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,735 to #10,228.
FAQ
Crispin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Crispin?
Name Census estimates that about 3,438 living Americans carry the surname Crispin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 99,696 residents.
How common is Crispin?
Crispin ranks #10,228 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.00 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 2,998 people with the surname Crispin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,438), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.00 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 Crispin.
Has Crispin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Crispin went from 3,330 recorded bearers to 2,998. That is a decrease of 332 (-10.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,735 to #10,228.
What does the Census say about the background of Crispin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Crispin, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 47.8%. The next largest groups are White (44.2%) and Black (3.9%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Crispin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.8% (1,433 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Crispin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (47.8%), White (44.2%), Black (3.9%). 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 Crispin (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 Crispin mean?
Derived from a medieval French nickname meaning "curly-haired" or referring to someone with curly hair. 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 Crispin (1.00 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 Crispin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.