2000
#5,767
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,499
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.04
Rare Last name
Crossley
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a crossroads or an intersection of paths.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,398 Americans carry the last name Crossley. That puts it at #5,943 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 53,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Crossley 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 Crossley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.4K
1 in 53,572
Census rank
#5,943
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,579 bearers of the surname Crossley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5943rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Crossley, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.0%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Crossley
The surname Crossley has its origins in England and is thought to date back to the 12th century. It is believed to be a locational name derived from the town of Crossley, now known as Crosley, near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. The name is thought to come from the Old English words "cros" meaning cross and "leah" meaning a woodland clearing, referring to a cross or crucifix situated in a forest clearing.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379, where a John de Croslegh is listed. The name is also found in various other medieval records, including the Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire in 1523 which mentions a Henry Crosseley. The variant spellings Crosseley, Crosseley, and Crossly were also common in these early records.
The name Crossley is associated with several notable historical figures. One of the earliest was William Crossley (1572-1642), an English clergyman and Puritan minister who served as the rector of St. Mary's Church in Aldermanbury, London. Another was Sir Francis Crossley (1579-1636), an English politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1637.
In the 18th century, the Crossley family became prominent industrialists in the textile industry in Yorkshire. John Crossley (1742-1837) founded a successful carpet manufacturing business in Halifax, and his sons, John (1766-1837) and Thomas (1768-1858), expanded the business further. The family's wealth and influence grew, and they became major employers and landowners in the region.
Notable Crossleys in more recent history include Martha Crossley (1874-1963), an English writer and activist for women's rights, and Sir Vivian Crossley (1904-1995), a British businessman and politician who served as a Conservative Member of Parliament for Stretford from 1935 to 1945.
The Crossley name has also been associated with several place names, including Crossley Hall in Huddersfield, which was built by the Crossley family in the 19th century, and Crossley Bridge, a village in West Yorkshire named after the family's textile mills in the area.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Crossley
Among Census respondents with the surname Crossley, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.0%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Crossley 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 Crossley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.1% · 4,190
- Black or African American16.0% · 891
- Two or more races4.3% · 242
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 165
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 53
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 38
Timeline
Historical Census data for Crossley
Crossley 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
#5,868
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,878
+379 bearers (+6.9%)
Per 100,000 1.99
Rank movement Down 101 places
2020
#5,943
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,579
-299 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 1.87
Rank movement Down 75 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,767 | 5,499 | 2.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,868 | 5,878 | 1.99 | +379 bearers (+6.9%) | Down 101 places |
| 2020 | #5,943 | 5,579 | 1.87 | -299 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 75 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 Crossley 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 | #5,868 | #5,943 | -1.3% |
| Count | 5,878 | 5,579 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.99 | 1.87 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Crossley bearers went from 5,878 to 5,579 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 75 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,868 to #5,943.
FAQ
Crossley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Crossley?
Name Census estimates that about 6,398 living Americans carry the surname Crossley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 53,572 residents.
How common is Crossley?
Crossley ranks #5,943 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.87 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,579 people with the surname Crossley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,398), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.87 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Crossley.
Has Crossley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Crossley went from 5,878 recorded bearers to 5,579. That is a decrease of 299 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,868 to #5,943.
What does the Census say about the background of Crossley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Crossley, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.0%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Crossley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.1% (4,190 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Crossley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.1%), Black (16.0%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Crossley (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 Crossley mean?
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a crossroads or an intersection of paths. 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 Crossley (1.87 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 Crossley?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.