2000
#12,437
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,289
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Ensor
An English occupational surname referring to someone who made handles, from the Old English "hanse" meaning "handle."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,534 Americans carry the last name Ensor. That puts it at #13,237 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 135,262 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ensor 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 Ensor with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 135,262
Census rank
#13,237
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,210 bearers of the surname Ensor in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13237th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ensor, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ensor
The surname ENSOR originates from England, where it first emerged in the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "ænne" and "soor," meaning "at the" and "sandy area," respectively. This suggests that the name initially referred to someone who resided in a sandy or arid region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname ENSOR can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Warwickshire from 1196, which mention a certain Robert Ensor. Additionally, the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 include an entry for a Richard Ensor in Oxfordshire.
The ENSOR surname has undergone various spelling variations throughout history, including Enser, Ensore, Ensoure, and Enzer. Some of these alternative spellings can be traced back to the 13th and 14th centuries in various county records.
In the 16th century, the ENSOR surname appeared in the parish records of St. Giles in Northampton, where a John Ensor was recorded as having been baptized in 1590. Around the same time, in 1592, a William Ensor was mentioned in the records of St. Mary's Church in Warwick.
One notable figure bearing the ENSOR surname was James Ensor (1860-1949), a renowned Belgian painter and printmaker. He was a prominent figure in the artistic avant-garde movement and is widely regarded as a significant influence on the development of Expressionism and Surrealism.
Another historical figure with the ENSOR surname was George Ensor (1769-1843), an English engraver and writer on the arts. He published several works, including "The Independent Man" and "A Description of the Marbles in the British Museum."
In the 18th century, a certain John Ensor (1734-1808) became known for his involvement in the establishment of the Equitable Life Assurance Society, one of the earliest life insurance companies in Britain.
The ENSOR surname also has connections to the United States, with one of the earliest recorded instances being that of Thomas Ensor, who settled in Virginia in 1663. Another early American bearer of the name was James Ensor, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1813.
Throughout history, several places have derived their names from the ENSOR surname, such as Ensor's Green in Worcestershire, England, and Ensor's Mill in Maryland, United States.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ensor
Among Census respondents with the surname Ensor, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Ensor 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 Ensor surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.7% · 2,071
- Two or more races2.4% · 54
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 20
- Black or African American0.6% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ensor
Ensor 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
#13,053
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,352
+63 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 616 places
2020
#13,237
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,210
-142 bearers (-6.0%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 184 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,437 | 2,289 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,053 | 2,352 | 0.80 | +63 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 616 places |
| 2020 | #13,237 | 2,210 | 0.74 | -142 bearers (-6.0%) | Down 184 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 Ensor 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 | #13,053 | #13,237 | -1.4% |
| Count | 2,352 | 2,210 | -6.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.74 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ensor bearers went from 2,352 to 2,210 (-6.0% change). The surname moved down 184 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,053 to #13,237.
FAQ
Ensor surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ensor?
Name Census estimates that about 2,534 living Americans carry the surname Ensor. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 135,262 residents.
How common is Ensor?
Ensor ranks #13,237 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.74 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 2,210 people with the surname Ensor. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,534), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.74 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 Ensor.
Has Ensor become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ensor went from 2,352 recorded bearers to 2,210. That is a decrease of 142 (-6.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,053 to #13,237.
What does the Census say about the background of Ensor?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ensor, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Ensor in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.7% (2,071 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ensor appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.7%), Two or More Races (2.4%), Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Ensor (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 Ensor mean?
An English occupational surname referring to someone who made handles, from the Old English "hanse" meaning "handle." 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 Ensor (0.74 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 are called Ensor?
Want to know how common the surname Ensor is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.