2000
#1,321
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,511
First available Census row
Per 100,000 9.09
Uncommon Last name
Ervin
Derived from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements ēr, meaning "honor," and win, meaning "friend."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 27,808 Americans carry the last name Ervin. That puts it at #1,430 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.11 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 12,326 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ervin 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 Ervin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
28K
1 in 12,326
Census rank
#1,430
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
24K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 24,250 bearers of the surname Ervin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.11 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1430th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ervin, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.5%. The next largest groups are Black (34.1%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ervin
The surname Ervin has its origins in the Old English and Anglo-Saxon languages. It is derived from the personal name Ervine, which itself is a combination of the elements "aru," meaning "honor" or "messenger," and "wine," meaning "friend." The name can be traced back to the 8th century in England.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Ervin is in the Domesday Book of 1086, a manuscript record of landholders in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The Domesday Book mentions an individual named Ervinus, which is believed to be an early spelling variation of Ervin.
During the Middle Ages, the surname Ervin was primarily concentrated in the counties of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire in northern England. It is likely that the name was originally associated with particular locations or estates within these regions, as was common with many surnames during this period.
Notable individuals with the surname Ervin throughout history include:
1. John Ervin (c. 1470-1544), an English clergyman who served as the Bishop of Bangor from 1512 to 1544.
2. James Ervin (1616-1682), a Scottish merchant and landowner who was actively involved in the colonization of Ulster in Ireland.
3. William Ervin (1734-1806), an American soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War and later served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates.
4. Samuel Ervin (1896-1985), an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from North Carolina and gained national prominence as the chair of the Senate Watergate Committee.
5. Jesse Ervin (1892-1980), an American baseball player who played in the Major Leagues for the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Braves in the early 20th century.
Over time, the surname Ervin has also been associated with various place names and locations, reflecting the migration patterns of families bearing the name. For example, there are places named Ervin in Tennessee and North Carolina in the United States.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ervin
Among Census respondents with the surname Ervin, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.5%. The next largest groups are Black (34.1%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Ervin 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 Ervin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.5% · 13,709
- Black or African American34.1% · 8,275
- Two or more races4.7% · 1,145
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 851
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 143
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 127
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ervin
Ervin 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
#1,377
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,698
+1,187 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 8.71
Rank movement Down 56 places
2020
#1,430
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,250
-1,448 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 8.11
Rank movement Down 53 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,321 | 24,511 | 9.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,377 | 25,698 | 8.71 | +1,187 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 56 places |
| 2020 | #1,430 | 24,250 | 8.11 | -1,448 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 53 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 Ervin 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 | #1,377 | #1,430 | -3.8% |
| Count | 25,698 | 24,250 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 8.71 | 8.11 | -6.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ervin bearers went from 25,698 to 24,250 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 53 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,377 to #1,430.
FAQ
Ervin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ervin?
Name Census estimates that about 27,808 living Americans carry the surname Ervin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 12,326 residents.
How common is Ervin?
Ervin ranks #1,430 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.11 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 24,250 people with the surname Ervin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (27,808), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.11 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.11 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Ervin.
Has Ervin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ervin went from 25,698 recorded bearers to 24,250. That is a decrease of 1,448 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,377 to #1,430.
What does the Census say about the background of Ervin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ervin, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.5%. The next largest groups are Black (34.1%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Ervin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.5% (13,709 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ervin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (56.5%), Black (34.1%), Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Ervin (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 Ervin mean?
Derived from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements ēr, meaning "honor," and win, meaning "friend." 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 Ervin (8.11 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 Ervin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.