2000
#13,613
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,045
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.76
Rare Last name
Crompton
From a place name meaning "crooked settlement" in Old English, likely referring to a bent or curved town.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,375 Americans carry the last name Crompton. That puts it at #13,946 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 144,318 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Crompton 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 Crompton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 144,318
Census rank
#13,946
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,071 bearers of the surname Crompton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13946th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Crompton, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Black (4.6%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Crompton
The surname Crompton originated in England during the medieval period. It is a locational name derived from the place name Crompton, a township in the parish of Oldham, Lancashire. The name Crompton itself is thought to have stemmed from the Old English words "crumb" meaning "crooked" and "tun" meaning "farm" or "enclosure," suggesting the name may have referred to a crooked or curved farm settlement.
One of the earliest known references to the name Crompton can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is recorded as "Crumpton." This historical document provides valuable insights into the distribution of surnames and place names across England during the 11th century.
In the 13th century, records show the name spelled as "Crumpton" and "Crompeton." These variations highlight the fluidity of surname spellings in medieval times, often influenced by local dialects and scribal conventions.
Notable individuals with the surname Crompton include:
1. Samuel Crompton (1753-1827), an English inventor and pioneer of the spinning industry, credited with developing the spinning mule, a machine that revolutionized the cotton industry.
2. William Crompton (1599-1642), an English Puritan clergyman and writer who served as the rector of Barnwell St Andrew in Northamptonshire.
3. Richard Crompton (1535-1599), an English lawyer and legal writer, best known for his work "L'Authoritie et Jurisdiction des Courts" published in 1594.
4. Henry Crompton (1836-1904), an English architect and designer, known for his contributions to the Gothic Revival architectural style.
5. John Crompton (1753-1837), an English Quaker minister and writer, who published several works on religious subjects.
The surname Crompton has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Crompton Fold, a hamlet in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, and Crompton Way, a road in the town of Bolton.
While the origins of the Crompton surname can be traced back to medieval England, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and immigration, carrying with it the rich history and heritage of its English roots.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Crompton
Among Census respondents with the surname Crompton, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Black (4.6%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Crompton 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 Crompton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.6% · 1,856
- Black or African American4.6% · 96
- Two or more races2.5% · 52
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 49
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Crompton
Crompton 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
#14,215
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,111
+66 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 602 places
2020
#13,946
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,071
-40 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Up 269 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,613 | 2,045 | 0.76 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,215 | 2,111 | 0.72 | +66 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 602 places |
| 2020 | #13,946 | 2,071 | 0.69 | -40 bearers (-1.9%) | Up 269 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 Crompton 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 | #14,215 | #13,946 | 1.9% |
| Count | 2,111 | 2,071 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.72 | 0.69 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Crompton bearers went from 2,111 to 2,071 (-1.9% change). The surname moved up 269 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,215 to #13,946.
FAQ
Crompton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Crompton?
Name Census estimates that about 2,375 living Americans carry the surname Crompton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 144,318 residents.
How common is Crompton?
Crompton ranks #13,946 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.69 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 2,071 people with the surname Crompton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,375), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.69 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 Crompton.
Has Crompton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Crompton went from 2,111 recorded bearers to 2,071. That is a decrease of 40 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,215 to #13,946.
What does the Census say about the background of Crompton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Crompton, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Black (4.6%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Crompton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (1,856 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Crompton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.6%), Black (4.6%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Crompton (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 Crompton mean?
From a place name meaning "crooked settlement" in Old English, likely referring to a bent or curved town. 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 Crompton (0.69 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 people have the surname Crompton?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.