2000
#3,703
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,799
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.26
Rare Last name
Crutchfield
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a field with a cross or crucifix.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,878 Americans carry the last name Crutchfield. That puts it at #4,004 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 34,699 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Crutchfield 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 Crutchfield with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.9K
1 in 34,699
Census rank
#4,004
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,614 bearers of the surname Crutchfield in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4004th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Crutchfield, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.9%. The next largest groups are Black (29.8%) and Two or More Races (5.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Crutchfield
The surname Crutchfield is believed to have originated in England, likely during the medieval period. It is thought to be a locational name, derived from a place name. One suggestion is that it comes from the village of Crutchfield, located in the county of Shropshire. This village name is composed of the Old English words "crycc" meaning "crutch" and "feld" meaning "field" or "open land."
Another possibility is that the name originated as a descriptive occupational name for someone who made or sold crutches. The word "crutch" comes from the Old English "crycc," which referred to a staff or support used for walking.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Crutchfield can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, where a William de Cruchfeld is mentioned. The "de" prefix in this early spelling indicates a locational origin.
In the 16th century, a variant spelling of the name, "Crutchfylde," appears in the records of the village of Wistanstow in Shropshire. This suggests that the surname may have originated from this area.
A notable figure with the surname Crutchfield was William Crutchfield (1788-1864), an American farmer and politician from Kentucky. He served as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives and the Kentucky State Senate in the early 19th century.
Another individual of note was Ira Crutchfield (1837-1908), an American businessman and entrepreneur who founded the Crutchfield Corporation, a successful mail-order company for audio and electronics equipment.
In the literary world, the author James Crutchfield (1877-1956) gained recognition for his works, including the novel "The Forgotten Valley" and the short story collection "The Tall Corn Country."
The surname Crutchfield has also been associated with several military figures throughout history. One such example is Major General William Crutchfield (1825-1910), a Confederate artillery officer during the American Civil War.
Additionally, the Crutchfield family has a long-standing connection to the state of Virginia, with several prominent individuals hailing from this region, including the politician and judge John Crutchfield (1792-1858) and the lawyer and judge Stapleton Crutchfield (1805-1870).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Crutchfield
Among Census respondents with the surname Crutchfield, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.9%. The next largest groups are Black (29.8%) and Two or More Races (5.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Crutchfield 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 Crutchfield surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.9% · 5,157
- Black or African American29.8% · 2,563
- Two or more races5.8% · 503
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 257
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 87
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 47
Timeline
Historical Census data for Crutchfield
Crutchfield 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
#3,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,019
+220 bearers (+2.5%)
Per 100,000 3.06
Rank movement Down 245 places
2020
#4,004
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,614
-405 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 2.88
Rank movement Down 56 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,703 | 8,799 | 3.26 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,948 | 9,019 | 3.06 | +220 bearers (+2.5%) | Down 245 places |
| 2020 | #4,004 | 8,614 | 2.88 | -405 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 56 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 Crutchfield 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 | #3,948 | #4,004 | -1.4% |
| Count | 9,019 | 8,614 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 3.06 | 2.88 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Crutchfield bearers went from 9,019 to 8,614 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 56 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,948 to #4,004.
FAQ
Crutchfield surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Crutchfield?
Name Census estimates that about 9,878 living Americans carry the surname Crutchfield. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 34,699 residents.
How common is Crutchfield?
Crutchfield ranks #4,004 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.88 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,614 people with the surname Crutchfield. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,878), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.88 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Crutchfield.
Has Crutchfield become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Crutchfield went from 9,019 recorded bearers to 8,614. That is a decrease of 405 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,948 to #4,004.
What does the Census say about the background of Crutchfield?
Among Census respondents with the surname Crutchfield, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.9%. The next largest groups are Black (29.8%) and Two or More Races (5.8%). 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 Crutchfield in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.9% (5,157 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Crutchfield appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (59.9%), Black (29.8%), Two or More Races (5.8%). 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 Crutchfield (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 Crutchfield mean?
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a field with a cross or crucifix. 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 Crutchfield (2.88 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 Crutchfield?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Crutchfield on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.