2000
#13,902
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,992
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.74
Rare Last name
Curd
An occupational surname for a maker or seller of cheese curds or cottage cheese.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,031 Americans carry the last name Curd. That puts it at #15,833 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.59 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 168,761 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Curd 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 Curd with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.0K
1 in 168,761
Census rank
#15,833
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,771 bearers of the surname Curd in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.59 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15833rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Curd, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.2%. The next largest groups are Black (15.2%) and Two or More Races (6.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Curd
The surname CURD originates from the Anglo-Saxon regions of England, particularly in areas like Norfolk and Suffolk. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "curd," referring to a dairy product made from the coagulated part of milk, separated from the whey. This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname for someone involved in cheese or dairy production.
Records from the late 12th century, such as the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire, mention individuals with the surname CURD or similar spellings like "Curdde" or "Curde." The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also contain references to a Robert Curd in Cambridgeshire. These early mentions indicate that the name was established in various parts of eastern England by the 13th century.
The Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive record of landholders in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, does not explicitly mention the surname CURD. However, it does include place names like "Curdworth" in Warwickshire, which may have influenced the development of the surname in that region.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the CURD surname was John Curd, born around 1425 in Somerset. Another notable figure was William Curd, a merchant and alderman in the City of London, who lived from 1520 to 1588. In the 17th century, Robert Curd (1617-1688) was a prominent English clergyman and writer.
In the 18th century, James Curd (1738-1820) was a British politician who served as a Member of Parliament for the borough of Taunton. Around the same time, John Curd (1751-1828) was an English artist known for his landscape paintings.
Moving into the 19th century, we find mentions of Charles Edward Curd (1819-1889), an English cricketer who played for Surrey County Cricket Club. Another notable figure was John Curd (1836-1898), a British architect responsible for designing several churches and public buildings in London.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Curd
Among Census respondents with the surname Curd, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.2%. The next largest groups are Black (15.2%) and Two or More Races (6.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Curd 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 Curd surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.2% · 1,278
- Black or African American15.2% · 270
- Two or more races6.0% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 92
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Curd
Curd 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
#14,806
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,003
+11 bearers (+0.6%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 904 places
2020
#15,833
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,771
-232 bearers (-11.6%)
Per 100,000 0.59
Rank movement Down 1,027 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,902 | 1,992 | 0.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,806 | 2,003 | 0.68 | +11 bearers (+0.6%) | Down 904 places |
| 2020 | #15,833 | 1,771 | 0.59 | -232 bearers (-11.6%) | Down 1,027 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 Curd 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 | #14,806 | #15,833 | -6.9% |
| Count | 2,003 | 1,771 | -11.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.68 | 0.59 | -12.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Curd bearers went from 2,003 to 1,771 (-11.6% change). The surname moved down 1,027 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,806 to #15,833.
FAQ
Curd surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Curd?
Name Census estimates that about 2,031 living Americans carry the surname Curd. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 168,761 residents.
How common is Curd?
Curd ranks #15,833 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.59 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 1,771 people with the surname Curd. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,031), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.59 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.59 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 Curd.
Has Curd become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Curd went from 2,003 recorded bearers to 1,771. That is a decrease of 232 (-11.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,806 to #15,833.
What does the Census say about the background of Curd?
Among Census respondents with the surname Curd, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.2%. The next largest groups are Black (15.2%) and Two or More Races (6.0%). 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 Curd in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.2% (1,278 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Curd appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.2%), Black (15.2%), Two or More Races (6.0%). 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 Curd (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 Curd mean?
An occupational surname for a maker or seller of cheese curds or cottage cheese. 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 Curd (0.59 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 surname Curd?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.