2000
#9,754
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,058
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.13
Rare Last name
Cruise
An occupational surname referring to someone who sails regularly, or who makes a living sailing the seas.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,759 Americans carry the last name Cruise. That puts it at #9,489 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 91,182 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cruise 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 Cruise with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.8K
1 in 91,182
Census rank
#9,489
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,278 bearers of the surname Cruise in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9489th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cruise, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.4%) and Black (7.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cruise
The surname CRUISE is of English origin and is thought to have derived from the Old French word "crois" or "cruce", meaning "cross". It was likely an occupational surname given to those who carried or painted crosses during religious processions.
The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century. In the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, the name appears as "Robertus Croyce". The Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1297 also mention a "Johannes Crous".
During the Middle Ages, the name was often spelled in various ways, including Crois, Croys, Crouse, and Cruce. Some of these spelling variations may have been influenced by the Latin word "crux", meaning "cross".
In the Domesday Book of 1086, there is a record of a place called "Cruce" in Wiltshire, which may have been the origin of the surname for some families.
One of the earliest notable bearers of the name was Sir John Cruise, a merchant and alderman of London who lived during the 15th century. He served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1471.
In the 16th century, the CRUISE surname was also found in Ireland, where it may have been adopted by settlers or derived independently from the Irish word "crois" meaning "cross".
Another prominent individual with this surname was William Cruise, an English politician and Member of Parliament for the borough of Tregony in Cornwall during the late 17th century.
During the 18th century, the CRUISE name appeared in various parts of England, including Northumberland, where a family of that name held lands in the parish of Ingram.
In the 19th century, one notable bearer of the CRUISE surname was Thomas Cruise, an English artist and painter who was born in 1796 and known for his landscapes and seascapes.
Another individual of note was Samuel Ebenezer Cruise, an English author and writer on agriculture, who was born in 1794 and published several works on rural economy and farming practices.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cruise
Among Census respondents with the surname Cruise, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.4%) and Black (7.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Cruise 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 Cruise surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.4% · 2,537
- Hispanic or Latino10.4% · 340
- Black or African American7.9% · 259
- Two or more races3.0% · 98
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 32
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cruise
Cruise 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
#9,794
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,306
+248 bearers (+8.1%)
Per 100,000 1.12
Rank movement Down 40 places
2020
#9,489
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,278
-28 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 1.10
Rank movement Up 305 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,754 | 3,058 | 1.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,794 | 3,306 | 1.12 | +248 bearers (+8.1%) | Down 40 places |
| 2020 | #9,489 | 3,278 | 1.10 | -28 bearers (-0.8%) | Up 305 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 Cruise 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 | #9,794 | #9,489 | 3.1% |
| Count | 3,306 | 3,278 | -0.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.12 | 1.10 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cruise bearers went from 3,306 to 3,278 (-0.8% change). The surname moved up 305 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,794 to #9,489.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Cruise
FAQ
Cruise surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cruise?
Name Census estimates that about 3,759 living Americans carry the surname Cruise. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 91,182 residents.
How common is Cruise?
Cruise ranks #9,489 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.10 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 3,278 people with the surname Cruise. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,759), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.10 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 Cruise.
Has Cruise become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cruise went from 3,306 recorded bearers to 3,278. That is a decrease of 28 (-0.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,794 to #9,489.
What does the Census say about the background of Cruise?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cruise, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.4%) and Black (7.9%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Cruise in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.4% (2,537 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cruise appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.4%), Hispanic (10.4%), Black (7.9%). 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 Cruise (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 Cruise mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who sails regularly, or who makes a living sailing the seas. 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 Cruise (1.10 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 are called Cruise?
See how common the surname Cruise is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.