Find out how popular the last name Earp is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Earp.

Earp, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Earp surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Earp in America

Earp is the 8536th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Earp surname appeared 3,855 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Earp.

We can also compare 2010 data for Earp to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Earp

The surname Earp is of English origin, originating in the County of Staffordshire, England in the late 12th century. It is derived from the Old English words "ēar" meaning "grave" or "tomb" and "orp" meaning "protuberance" or "mound", suggesting it was initially a topographic name for someone who lived near a burial mound or grave marker.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was William Earp, mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire in 1199. The name appeared in various spellings in ancient records such as Erp, Eirp, and Eirpe, reflecting the regional dialects and scribal variations of the time.

In the 13th century, the Earp surname was found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire, indicating the name had spread to other parts of England. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed a Richard Eirp, providing an early example of the name's spelling variation.

The Earp surname is associated with several notable historical figures, including Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (1848-1929), an American Old West lawman and gambler who participated in the famous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. His brothers, Virgil Earp (1843-1905) and Morgan Earp (1851-1882), were also involved in law enforcement and the events surrounding the gunfight.

Another prominent bearer of the name was Thomas Earp (1785-1853), an English Baptist minister and author who published several religious works, including "The Gambler's Manual" and "The Village Lecturer."

In the 19th century, John Earp (1811-1877) was a British industrialist and philanthropist who founded the Earp Brewery in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, contributing to the town's reputation as a renowned brewing center.

The Earp surname has also been associated with place names in England, such as Earp in Derbyshire, which was recorded as "Ereburgh" in the Domesday Book of 1086, further highlighting the name's ancient origins.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Earp

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Earp.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Earp was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Earp has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Earp was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Earp, please contact us.

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