2000
#4,965
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,498
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.41
Rare Last name
Cushing
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "place of Cuss's people."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,000 Americans carry the last name Cushing. That puts it at #5,499 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 48,965 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cushing 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 Cushing with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.0K
1 in 48,965
Census rank
#5,499
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,104 bearers of the surname Cushing in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5499th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cushing, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cushing
The surname Cushing is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "cusce," meaning a rush or sedge plant. It likely originated as a toponymic surname, referring to someone who lived near a patch of rushes or sedge.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the late 12th century in various English counties, including Norfolk, Suffolk, and Hertfordshire. It appears in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk in 1199 as "William Cussinc." The name also appears in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 as "Roger Cusshing" in Norfolk.
In the 14th century, the surname was found in various spellings, such as Cusshyng, Cusshyngge, and Cusshinge, reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling during that time. One notable early bearer of the name was John Cushing, a Member of Parliament for Somerset in 1326.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name continued to spread across England, with several notable individuals emerging. One of the earliest was Peter Cushing (1532-1612), a merchant and benefactor from Hingham, Norfolk. Another was Thomas Cushing (1595-1679), who emigrated from Norfolk to Massachusetts Bay Colony and became a prominent figure in the early colonial period.
In the 18th century, William Cushing (1732-1810) was a prominent American jurist and judge who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. His brother, Thomas Cushing (1725-1788), was a merchant and politician who served as the second Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts.
The 19th century saw the rise of several distinguished individuals with the Cushing surname, including Caleb Cushing (1800-1879), an American diplomat and Attorney General under President Franklin Pierce, and Frank Hamilton Cushing (1857-1900), an American anthropologist and ethnologist known for his pioneering work in the American Southwest.
Other notable bearers of the Cushing surname include Harvey Williams Cushing (1869-1939), a pioneering American neurosurgeon often referred to as the "Father of Modern Neurosurgery," and Peter Cushing (1913-1994), an English actor best known for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Grand Moff Tarkin in the Star Wars franchise.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cushing
Among Census respondents with the surname Cushing, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Cushing 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 Cushing surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.9% · 5,611
- Two or more races3.6% · 217
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 199
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 54
- Black or African American0.2% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cushing
Cushing 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
#5,373
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,480
-18 bearers (-0.3%)
Per 100,000 2.20
Rank movement Down 408 places
2020
#5,499
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,104
-376 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 2.04
Rank movement Down 126 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,965 | 6,498 | 2.41 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,373 | 6,480 | 2.20 | -18 bearers (-0.3%) | Down 408 places |
| 2020 | #5,499 | 6,104 | 2.04 | -376 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 126 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 Cushing 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 | #5,373 | #5,499 | -2.3% |
| Count | 6,480 | 6,104 | -5.8% |
| Per 100K | 2.20 | 2.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cushing bearers went from 6,480 to 6,104 (-5.8% change). The surname moved down 126 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,373 to #5,499.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Cushing
FAQ
Cushing surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cushing?
Name Census estimates that about 7,000 living Americans carry the surname Cushing. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 48,965 residents.
How common is Cushing?
Cushing ranks #5,499 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.04 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 6,104 people with the surname Cushing. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,000), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.04 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 Cushing.
Has Cushing become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cushing went from 6,480 recorded bearers to 6,104. That is a decrease of 376 (-5.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,373 to #5,499.
What does the Census say about the background of Cushing?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cushing, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Cushing in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (5,611 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cushing appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.9%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Cushing (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 Cushing mean?
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "place of Cuss's people." 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 Cushing (2.04 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 Cushing?
See how many people are called Cushing on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.