2000
#1,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,665
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.29
Uncommon Last name
Cullen
Anglicized form of an Irish surname meaning "holly" or "descendant of Cuileann," an Irish Gaelic personal name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 22,446 Americans carry the last name Cullen. That puts it at #1,790 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.55 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 15,270 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cullen 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 Cullen with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
22K
1 in 15,270
Census rank
#1,790
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
20K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 19,574 bearers of the surname Cullen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.55 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1790th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cullen, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cullen
The surname Cullen has its origins in Ireland, stemming from the Gaelic word "Cuillinn" which means "holly tree" or "holly". It is believed to have originated in the early medieval period, around the 10th or 11th century.
The name was initially concentrated in the counties of Laois and Offaly, where it was closely associated with several important septs or clans. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, which mentions a Cullen chieftain named Donnchadh Ó Cuillinn in the year 1141.
During the Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century, the Cullen name spread to other parts of the country, particularly in counties such as Kilkenny, Tipperary, and Cork. The name also appeared in various anglicized forms, such as Cullin, Cullenan, and Cullinane.
In the 16th century, the Cullen surname gained prominence with the rise of Hugh Cullen, an influential landowner and military leader from County Laois. Hugh Cullen played a pivotal role in the Elizabethan wars and was granted extensive lands by the English Crown for his loyalty.
Another notable figure bearing the Cullen name was Father Peter Cullen (1650-1736), an Irish Jesuit priest and philosopher who was renowned for his contributions to the fields of logic and metaphysics. He taught at various universities across Europe and authored several influential works.
In the 18th century, the Cullen surname was further spread throughout Ireland and beyond due to the large-scale Irish diaspora. One prominent individual from this era was Dr. William Cullen (1710-1790), a Scottish physician, chemist, and agriculturalist who made significant contributions to the study of medicine and the development of modern chemistry.
The 19th century saw the rise of several influential Cullens, including Cardinal Paul Cullen (1803-1878), the first Irish Cardinal and the Archbishop of Dublin. He played a key role in the Catholic Church's response to the Irish Famine and the establishment of the Catholic University of Ireland.
Another notable figure was William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878), an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-term editor of the New York Evening Post. He was a prominent figure in the literary circles of his time and an influential voice in the abolitionist movement.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cullen
Among Census respondents with the surname Cullen, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Cullen 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 Cullen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 17,582
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 693
- Two or more races3.5% · 688
- Black or African American1.5% · 300
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 260
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 51
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cullen
Cullen 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
#1,796
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,000
+335 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 6.78
Rank movement Down 131 places
2020
#1,790
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,574
-426 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 6.55
Rank movement Up 6 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,665 | 19,665 | 7.29 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,796 | 20,000 | 6.78 | +335 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 131 places |
| 2020 | #1,790 | 19,574 | 6.55 | -426 bearers (-2.1%) | Up 6 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 Cullen 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 | #1,796 | #1,790 | 0.3% |
| Count | 20,000 | 19,574 | -2.1% |
| Per 100K | 6.78 | 6.55 | -3.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cullen bearers went from 20,000 to 19,574 (-2.1% change). The surname moved up 6 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,796 to #1,790.
FAQ
Cullen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cullen?
Name Census estimates that about 22,446 living Americans carry the surname Cullen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 15,270 residents.
How common is Cullen?
Cullen ranks #1,790 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.55 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 19,574 people with the surname Cullen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (22,446), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.55 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.55 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Cullen.
Has Cullen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cullen went from 20,000 recorded bearers to 19,574. That is a decrease of 426 (-2.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,796 to #1,790.
What does the Census say about the background of Cullen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cullen, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Cullen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (17,582 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cullen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.8%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Cullen (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 Cullen mean?
Anglicized form of an Irish surname meaning "holly" or "descendant of Cuileann," an Irish Gaelic personal name. 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 Cullen (6.55 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 Cullen?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Cullen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.