2000
#8,111
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,766
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.40
Rare Last name
Earp
Derived from a place name meaning "dark water" in Old English, likely referring to someone who lived near a pond or stream.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,009 Americans carry the last name Earp. That puts it at #8,981 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.17 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 85,496 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Earp 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 Earp with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.0K
1 in 85,496
Census rank
#8,981
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,496 bearers of the surname Earp in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.17 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8981st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Earp, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Black (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Earp
Among Census respondents with the surname Earp, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Black (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Earp 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 Earp surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.6% · 3,062
- Black or African American3.9% · 137
- Two or more races3.7% · 128
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 112
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Earp
Earp 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
#8,536
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,855
+89 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 1.31
Rank movement Down 425 places
2020
#8,981
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,496
-359 bearers (-9.3%)
Per 100,000 1.17
Rank movement Down 445 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,111 | 3,766 | 1.40 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,536 | 3,855 | 1.31 | +89 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 425 places |
| 2020 | #8,981 | 3,496 | 1.17 | -359 bearers (-9.3%) | Down 445 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 Earp 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 | #8,536 | #8,981 | -5.2% |
| Count | 3,855 | 3,496 | -9.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.31 | 1.17 | -10.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Earp bearers went from 3,855 to 3,496 (-9.3% change). The surname moved down 445 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,536 to #8,981.
FAQ
Earp surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Earp?
Name Census estimates that about 4,009 living Americans carry the surname Earp. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 85,496 residents.
How common is Earp?
Earp ranks #8,981 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.17 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 3,496 people with the surname Earp. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,009), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.17 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 Earp.
Has Earp become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Earp went from 3,855 recorded bearers to 3,496. That is a decrease of 359 (-9.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,536 to #8,981.
What does the Census say about the background of Earp?
Among Census respondents with the surname Earp, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Black (3.9%) 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 Earp in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.6% (3,062 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Earp appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.6%), Black (3.9%), 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 Earp (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 Earp mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "dark water" in Old English, likely referring to someone who lived near a pond or stream. 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 Earp (1.17 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 surname Earp?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.