2000
#10,196
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,902
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.08
Rare Last name
Cuthbertson
A surname of Scottish origin derived from the given name Cuthbert, meaning "bright-fame."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,422 Americans carry the last name Cuthbertson. That puts it at #10,275 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 100,162 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cuthbertson 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 Cuthbertson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.4K
1 in 100,162
Census rank
#10,275
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,984 bearers of the surname Cuthbertson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10275th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cuthbertson, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.9%. The next largest groups are Black (24.2%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cuthbertson
The surname Cuthbertson is of English origin, deriving from the Old English personal name "Cuthbert" which was composed of the elements "cūth" meaning "famous" and "beorht" meaning "bright" or "shining." The name was relatively common in medieval England, particularly in the north of the country.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Cuthbertson can be traced back to the late 12th century in Yorkshire, where it was often rendered as "Cudbertsun" or "Cudberdesun." This patronymic form indicated "son of Cuthbert," demonstrating the name's widespread use as a given name during that period.
Cuthbertson is closely associated with the Venerable Bede's account of St. Cuthbert, a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon monk and Bishop of Lindisfarne, who was renowned for his piety and miracles. This association likely contributed to the name's popularity in the region.
Notable historical figures with the surname Cuthbertson include William Cuthbertson (1743-1815), a British naval officer who served during the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars. Another is John Cuthbertson (1743-1821), a Scottish-born Canadian fur trader and explorer who was involved in the early settlement of the Red River Colony.
In the literary realm, James Cuthbertson (1851-1920) was a Scottish writer and journalist who authored several works on Scottish history and culture. Katharine Cuthbertson (1903-1985), on the other hand, was a British novelist and playwright known for her works depicting rural life in the Scottish Borders.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Cudberdesune" in the county of Yorkshire, indicating the presence of a family bearing this name in the region during the Norman conquest of England.
While the surname Cuthbertson is predominantly found in England, Scotland, and North America, it has also been documented in other parts of the English-speaking world, likely due to migration patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cuthbertson
Among Census respondents with the surname Cuthbertson, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.9%. The next largest groups are Black (24.2%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Cuthbertson 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 Cuthbertson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.9% · 2,025
- Black or African American24.2% · 723
- Two or more races3.7% · 109
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 104
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cuthbertson
Cuthbertson 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
#10,437
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,082
+180 bearers (+6.2%)
Per 100,000 1.04
Rank movement Down 241 places
2020
#10,275
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,984
-98 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 1.00
Rank movement Up 162 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,196 | 2,902 | 1.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,437 | 3,082 | 1.04 | +180 bearers (+6.2%) | Down 241 places |
| 2020 | #10,275 | 2,984 | 1.00 | -98 bearers (-3.2%) | Up 162 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 Cuthbertson 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 | #10,437 | #10,275 | 1.6% |
| Count | 3,082 | 2,984 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.04 | 1.00 | -4.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cuthbertson bearers went from 3,082 to 2,984 (-3.2% change). The surname moved up 162 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,437 to #10,275.
FAQ
Cuthbertson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cuthbertson?
Name Census estimates that about 3,422 living Americans carry the surname Cuthbertson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 100,162 residents.
How common is Cuthbertson?
Cuthbertson ranks #10,275 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.00 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 2,984 people with the surname Cuthbertson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,422), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.00 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 Cuthbertson.
Has Cuthbertson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cuthbertson went from 3,082 recorded bearers to 2,984. That is a decrease of 98 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,437 to #10,275.
What does the Census say about the background of Cuthbertson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cuthbertson, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.9%. The next largest groups are Black (24.2%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Cuthbertson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.9% (2,025 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cuthbertson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (67.9%), Black (24.2%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Cuthbertson (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 Cuthbertson mean?
A surname of Scottish origin derived from the given name Cuthbert, meaning "bright-fame." 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 Cuthbertson (1.00 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 last name Cuthbertson?
If you just want to know how common the surname Cuthbertson is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.