2000
#1,635
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,047
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.43
Uncommon Last name
Crocker
An occupational surname referring to a potter who made pottery from clay.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 21,806 Americans carry the last name Crocker. That puts it at #1,854 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.36 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 15,718 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Crocker 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 Crocker with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
22K
1 in 15,718
Census rank
#1,854
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
19K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 19,016 bearers of the surname Crocker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.36 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1854th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Crocker, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (7.9%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Crocker
The surname Crocker originated in England and is believed to have derived from the Old English word "crocor," which referred to a potter or maker of earthenware vessels. It is thought to have emerged as an occupational name during the Anglo-Saxon period, possibly as early as the 8th or 9th century.
Records indicate that the name was present in various parts of England, including Shropshire, Staffordshire, and Worcestershire. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Crochere" and "Crocherman."
In the 13th century, the name was often spelled as "Crockere" or "Crokker," reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling at the time. Some early examples include Walter le Crockere, mentioned in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1285, and John Crokker, recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Buckinghamshire in 1273.
The surname Crocker has been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the earliest was Sir John Crokker, a prominent lawyer and judge who lived in the late 14th century and served as Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 1387 to 1392. Another notable bearer of the name was Walter Crokker, who was the Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1335 to 1349.
In the 16th century, the name was sometimes linked to place names, such as Crocker's Moor in Somerset and Crocker's Green in Shropshire. This suggests that some Crockers may have derived their surname from the names of these localities.
One of the most famous individuals with the surname Crocker was Henry Crocker (1778-1848), an American industrialist and philanthropist who founded the Crocker Bank in San Francisco and played a significant role in the development of California's economy in the early 19th century.
Other notable Crockers include Samuel Crocker (1630-1685), an early settler of Cape Cod and one of the founders of Barnstable, Massachusetts; Charles Crocker (1822-1888), an American businessman and one of the "Big Four" investors who financed the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad; and William Crocker (1761-1854), an American Revolutionary War soldier and one of the founders of Belchertown, Massachusetts.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Crocker
Among Census respondents with the surname Crocker, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (7.9%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Crocker 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 Crocker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.5% · 16,060
- Black or African American7.9% · 1,501
- Two or more races3.5% · 669
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 540
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 143
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 103
Timeline
Historical Census data for Crocker
Crocker 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
#1,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,370
+323 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 6.91
Rank movement Down 122 places
2020
#1,854
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,016
-1,354 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 6.36
Rank movement Down 97 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,635 | 20,047 | 7.43 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,757 | 20,370 | 6.91 | +323 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 122 places |
| 2020 | #1,854 | 19,016 | 6.36 | -1,354 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 97 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 Crocker 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 | #1,757 | #1,854 | -5.5% |
| Count | 20,370 | 19,016 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 6.91 | 6.36 | -7.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Crocker bearers went from 20,370 to 19,016 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 97 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,757 to #1,854.
FAQ
Crocker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Crocker?
Name Census estimates that about 21,806 living Americans carry the surname Crocker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 15,718 residents.
How common is Crocker?
Crocker ranks #1,854 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.36 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 19,016 people with the surname Crocker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (21,806), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.36 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.36 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 Crocker.
Has Crocker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Crocker went from 20,370 recorded bearers to 19,016. That is a decrease of 1,354 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,757 to #1,854.
What does the Census say about the background of Crocker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Crocker, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (7.9%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Crocker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.5% (16,060 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Crocker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.5%), Black (7.9%), Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Crocker (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 Crocker mean?
An occupational surname referring to a potter who made pottery from clay. 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 Crocker (6.36 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 Crocker?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Crocker on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.