2000
#1,416
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,031
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.54
Uncommon Last name
Crow
An English occupational surname referring to a person who tended or hunted crows, or had glossy black hair.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 26,870 Americans carry the last name Crow. That puts it at #1,485 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 12,756 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Crow 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 Crow with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
27K
1 in 12,756
Census rank
#1,485
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
23K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 23,432 bearers of the surname Crow in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1485th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Crow, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and Hispanic (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Crow
The surname Crow is of English origin and dates back to the late 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word "crawe", meaning "crow" or "raven". The name likely originated as a nickname for a person with dark hair or complexion, or perhaps as a reference to someone who lived near a place where crows congregated.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Crow can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1195, which mentions a person named William Crowe. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 also contain entries for individuals with the surname Crow, such as Robert Crowe and Reginald Crowe.
In the 13th century, the name Crow appeared in various place names across England, including Crowborough in Sussex, Crowland in Lincolnshire, and Crowhurst in Surrey. These place names may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.
Notable individuals with the surname Crow throughout history include:
1. Sir Sackville Crow (1595-1672), an English politician and Member of Parliament for East Grinstead.
2. Francis Crow (1670-1735), an English clergyman and Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford.
3. Martha Crow (1795-1872), an American pioneer and one of the first settlers in Quincy, Illinois.
4. Levi Crow (1806-1888), an American frontiersman and trader who established a trading post in present-day Kansas.
5. Martha Foote Crow (1854-1924), an American educator and suffragist who played a significant role in the women's suffrage movement in the United States.
The surname Crow has also been associated with various occupations and professions over the centuries, such as farmers, merchants, and tradesmen. While the name is predominantly found in England and the United States, it has also spread to other parts of the world through migration and settlement patterns.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Crow
Among Census respondents with the surname Crow, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and Hispanic (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Crow 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 Crow surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.1% · 19,937
- Two or more races5.0% · 1,179
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 953
- Black or African American2.8% · 656
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.4% · 565
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 142
Timeline
Historical Census data for Crow
Crow 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
#1,482
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,089
+1,058 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 8.17
Rank movement Down 66 places
2020
#1,485
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,432
-657 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 7.84
Rank movement Down 3 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,416 | 23,031 | 8.54 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,482 | 24,089 | 8.17 | +1,058 bearers (+4.6%) | Down 66 places |
| 2020 | #1,485 | 23,432 | 7.84 | -657 bearers (-2.7%) | Down 3 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 Crow 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 | #1,482 | #1,485 | -0.2% |
| Count | 24,089 | 23,432 | -2.7% |
| Per 100K | 8.17 | 7.84 | -4.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Crow bearers went from 24,089 to 23,432 (-2.7% change). The surname moved down 3 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,482 to #1,485.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Crow
FAQ
Crow surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Crow?
Name Census estimates that about 26,870 living Americans carry the surname Crow. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 12,756 residents.
How common is Crow?
Crow ranks #1,485 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.84 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 23,432 people with the surname Crow. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (26,870), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.84 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Crow.
Has Crow become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Crow went from 24,089 recorded bearers to 23,432. That is a decrease of 657 (-2.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,482 to #1,485.
What does the Census say about the background of Crow?
Among Census respondents with the surname Crow, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Crow in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.1% (19,937 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Crow appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.1%), Two or More Races (5.0%), Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Crow (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 Crow mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a person who tended or hunted crows, or had glossy black 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 Crow (7.84 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 last name Crow?
See how many people have the last name Crow on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.