2000
#10,303
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,866
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.06
Rare Last name
Cutlip
An English occupational surname for a person with distinctive or deformed lips, derived from the Middle English "cut-lippe."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,095 Americans carry the last name Cutlip. That puts it at #11,207 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.90 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 110,745 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cutlip 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.
Bearers in the US
3.1K
1 in 110,745
Census rank
#11,207
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,699 bearers of the surname Cutlip in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.90 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11207th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cutlip, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cutlip
The surname Cutlip is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "cutt" and "lippe," which together translate to "cut lip." This may have originally referred to someone who had sustained a prominent injury to their lip or could have been a descriptive nickname given to someone with a distinctive cleft or split lip.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Cutlip can be traced back to the county of Yorkshire in northern England, where it is found in various tax records and parish registers from the 13th and 14th centuries. Variations in spelling during this time included Cutlip, Cutlippe, and Cuttelip, reflecting the fluid nature of surname spellings before they became more standardized.
One of the first known bearers of the name was John Cutlip, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls for Yorkshire in 1301. The Subsidy Rolls were tax records maintained by the English government, indicating that John Cutlip was a landowner or taxpayer during that period.
In the 16th century, the name Cutlip appeared in the historical records of the nearby county of Lancashire. A notable figure was Robert Cutlip, a yeoman farmer who lived in the town of Eccleston in the late 1500s. His descendants continued to reside in the area for several generations.
Another early bearer of the Cutlip name was William Cutlip, who was born in Yorkshire in 1627. He later migrated to the American colonies, settling in Virginia in the mid-17th century and establishing a branch of the Cutlip family in the New World.
Over the centuries, various individuals named Cutlip have achieved recognition in various fields. One example is Thomas Cutlip, an English clergyman who served as the Rector of St. Mary's Church in Guildford, Surrey, in the early 18th century.
Another notable figure was James Cutlip, a British military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in 1785 and served with distinction in the Peninsular War, eventually rising to the rank of Major before his death in 1847.
In the 19th century, John Cutlip was a prominent architect based in London. He was responsible for designing several notable buildings, including the Royal Exchange in the city's financial district, which was completed in 1844.
While the Cutlip surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through migration to the Americas and other English-speaking countries. However, its origins can be traced back to the medieval period in Yorkshire and the surrounding areas of northern England.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cutlip
Among Census respondents with the surname Cutlip, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Cutlip 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 Cutlip surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 2,498
- Two or more races4.3% · 116
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 53
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 14
- Black or African American0.4% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cutlip
Cutlip 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
#10,736
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,974
+108 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 1.01
Rank movement Down 433 places
2020
#11,207
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,699
-275 bearers (-9.2%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Down 471 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,303 | 2,866 | 1.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,736 | 2,974 | 1.01 | +108 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 433 places |
| 2020 | #11,207 | 2,699 | 0.90 | -275 bearers (-9.2%) | Down 471 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 Cutlip 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 | #10,736 | #11,207 | -4.4% |
| Count | 2,974 | 2,699 | -9.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.01 | 0.90 | -10.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cutlip bearers went from 2,974 to 2,699 (-9.2% change). The surname moved down 471 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,736 to #11,207.
FAQ
Cutlip surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cutlip?
Name Census estimates that about 3,095 living Americans carry the surname Cutlip. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 110,745 residents.
How common is Cutlip?
Cutlip ranks #11,207 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.90 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 2,699 people with the surname Cutlip. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,095), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.9 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.90 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 Cutlip.
Has Cutlip become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cutlip went from 2,974 recorded bearers to 2,699. That is a decrease of 275 (-9.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,736 to #11,207.
What does the Census say about the background of Cutlip?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cutlip, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Cutlip in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (2,498 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cutlip appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Two or More Races (4.3%), Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Cutlip (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 Cutlip mean?
An English occupational surname for a person with distinctive or deformed lips, derived from the Middle English "cut-lippe." 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 Cutlip (0.90 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 common is the surname Cutlip?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Cutlip on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.