2000
#6,147
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,131
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.90
Rare Last name
Curl
An occupational surname referring to a person who made or sold chariots or wagons.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,555 Americans carry the last name Curl. That puts it at #6,698 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 61,702 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Curl 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 Curl with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.6K
1 in 61,702
Census rank
#6,698
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,844 bearers of the surname Curl in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6698th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Curl, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.3%. The next largest groups are Black (9.6%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Curl
The surname Curl is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "cyrl" or "crull," which means "curl" or "twisted lock of hair." The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname or occupation for someone who had curly hair or was involved in the production of curled items, such as wigs or ropes.
The earliest known records of the surname Curl can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of England, including Yorkshire, Norfolk, and Oxfordshire. In the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire from 1273, there is a mention of a man named Adam Crull, which is one of the earliest documented instances of the name.
The Curl surname is also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. Although the spelling variations differ, entries such as "Crul" and "Crull" suggest the presence of the name during the Norman period.
Curl as a place name can be found in several locations across England, such as Curl in Cumbria and Curl's Ash in Somerset. These place names may have contributed to the development of the surname or vice versa, as people were often identified by the place they were from or lived.
Some notable individuals who bore the surname Curl throughout history include:
1. Edward Curl (c. 1555-1636), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Salisbury in 1628.
2. William Curl (1768-1832), a British naval officer who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
3. John Curl (1835-1906), an English cricketer who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club in the mid-19th century.
4. Henry Curl (1862-1950), an Australian politician and member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1908 to 1917.
5. David Curl (1947-2020), an American author and journalist known for his writing on environmental issues and outdoor adventure.
While the surname Curl is not among the most common surnames in the English-speaking world, it has maintained its presence throughout the centuries, with individuals bearing the name making contributions in various fields, from politics and sports to literature and journalism.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Curl
Among Census respondents with the surname Curl, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.3%. The next largest groups are Black (9.6%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Curl 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 Curl surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.3% · 3,937
- Black or African American9.6% · 464
- Two or more races4.1% · 199
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 179
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 30
Timeline
Historical Census data for Curl
Curl 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
#6,379
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,335
+204 bearers (+4.0%)
Per 100,000 1.81
Rank movement Down 232 places
2020
#6,698
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,844
-491 bearers (-9.2%)
Per 100,000 1.62
Rank movement Down 319 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,147 | 5,131 | 1.90 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,379 | 5,335 | 1.81 | +204 bearers (+4.0%) | Down 232 places |
| 2020 | #6,698 | 4,844 | 1.62 | -491 bearers (-9.2%) | Down 319 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 Curl 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 | #6,379 | #6,698 | -5.0% |
| Count | 5,335 | 4,844 | -9.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.81 | 1.62 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Curl bearers went from 5,335 to 4,844 (-9.2% change). The surname moved down 319 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,379 to #6,698.
FAQ
Curl surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Curl?
Name Census estimates that about 5,555 living Americans carry the surname Curl. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 61,702 residents.
How common is Curl?
Curl ranks #6,698 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.62 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,844 people with the surname Curl. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,555), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.62 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Curl.
Has Curl become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Curl went from 5,335 recorded bearers to 4,844. That is a decrease of 491 (-9.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,379 to #6,698.
What does the Census say about the background of Curl?
Among Census respondents with the surname Curl, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.3%. The next largest groups are Black (9.6%) and Two or More Races (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 Curl in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.3% (3,937 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Curl appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.3%), Black (9.6%), Two or More Races (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 Curl (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 Curl mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who made or sold chariots or wagons. 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 Curl (1.62 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 share the surname Curl?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.