2000
#2,210
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,087
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.59
Uncommon Last name
Cutler
An occupational surname referring to a person who makes, sells, or repairs knives and other cutting instruments.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 16,972 Americans carry the last name Cutler. That puts it at #2,401 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.95 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 20,195 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cutler 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 Cutler with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
17K
1 in 20,195
Census rank
#2,401
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
15K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 14,800 bearers of the surname Cutler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.95 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2401st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cutler, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.7%. The next largest groups are Black (8.1%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cutler
The surname Cutler is an occupational name derived from the Old English word 'cultere' or 'culter', meaning a maker or seller of knives. It originated in England, likely during the medieval period, when surnames began to be adopted and passed down from generation to generation.
The name Cutler is believed to have first appeared in records around the 12th century. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, which mention a person named William Cultelarius.
As an occupational surname, Cutler was particularly common in areas known for their cutlery and knife-making industries, such as Sheffield and Hallamshire in South Yorkshire. The name may also have been derived from place names like Cutlers Green in Worcestershire or Cutlers Close in Norfolk.
In the 13th century, the Hundred Rolls of 1273 recorded a Roger le Cultelir in Oxfordshire. The surname was also found in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296, listing a John le Coutiller.
One notable early bearer of the name was Sir Gervase Cutler (c. 1505-1590), an English merchant and member of the Worshipful Company of Cutlers in London. He served as Lord Mayor of London in 1573.
Another prominent individual was John Cutler (c. 1608-1693), an English philosopher and instructor at the University of Cambridge. He is remembered for his work on the nature of perception and for his contributions to the Cambridge Platonist movement.
In the 17th century, Samuel Cutler (1638-1718) was a Puritan minister and one of the founders of Yale College in Connecticut, serving as its first rector from 1701 to 1707.
During the American Revolutionary War, Sir John Jarvis Cutler (1744-1786) was a British Army officer who served as the commander of the British forces in the Battle of Fort Washington in 1776.
In the 19th century, Elisha Cutler (1813-1891) was an American inventor credited with developing the first successful machine for making envelopes.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cutler
Among Census respondents with the surname Cutler, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.7%. The next largest groups are Black (8.1%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Cutler 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 Cutler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.7% · 12,382
- Black or African American8.1% · 1,201
- Two or more races3.4% · 510
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 502
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 137
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 68
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cutler
Cutler 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
#2,331
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,621
+534 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 5.30
Rank movement Down 121 places
2020
#2,401
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,800
-821 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 4.95
Rank movement Down 70 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,210 | 15,087 | 5.59 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,331 | 15,621 | 5.30 | +534 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 121 places |
| 2020 | #2,401 | 14,800 | 4.95 | -821 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 70 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 Cutler 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 | #2,331 | #2,401 | -3.0% |
| Count | 15,621 | 14,800 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 5.30 | 4.95 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cutler bearers went from 15,621 to 14,800 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 70 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,331 to #2,401.
FAQ
Cutler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cutler?
Name Census estimates that about 16,972 living Americans carry the surname Cutler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 20,195 residents.
How common is Cutler?
Cutler ranks #2,401 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.95 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 14,800 people with the surname Cutler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (16,972), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.95 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.95 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Cutler.
Has Cutler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cutler went from 15,621 recorded bearers to 14,800. That is a decrease of 821 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,331 to #2,401.
What does the Census say about the background of Cutler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cutler, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.7%. The next largest groups are Black (8.1%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Cutler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.7% (12,382 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cutler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.7%), Black (8.1%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Cutler (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 Cutler mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who makes, sells, or repairs knives and other cutting instruments. 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 Cutler (4.95 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 Cutler?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Cutler on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.