2000
#11,547
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,497
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.93
Rare Last name
Etheredge
Derived from a place name meaning "dweller at the edge of a heath or wasteland."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,870 Americans carry the last name Etheredge. That puts it at #11,942 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 119,427 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Etheredge 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 Etheredge with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 119,427
Census rank
#11,942
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,503 bearers of the surname Etheredge in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11942nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Etheredge, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.3%. The next largest groups are Black (20.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Etheredge
The surname Etheredge is of English origin and dates back to the late medieval period. It is a locational name derived from a place called Etheredge or Edridge in the county of Wiltshire. The name is composed of the Old English elements "edisc" meaning "rich" and "hrycg" meaning "ridge" or "hill."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Pipe Rolls of Wiltshire in 1195, where it is spelled "Edredge." This reference suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the late 12th century.
The Etheredge surname is also found in various historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries, such as the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which list several individuals with the name in Wiltshire.
One notable bearer of the name was Sir James Etheredge (c. 1555-1624), an English diplomat and Member of Parliament during the reign of King James I. He served as the English ambassador to the Netherlands and was knighted in 1603.
Another prominent figure was George Etheredge (1635-1689), an English dramatist and courtier during the Restoration period. He is best known for his comedies, including "The Comical Revenge" (1664) and "She Would if She Could" (1668).
In the 18th century, Sir Ralph Etheredge (1697-1778) was a British Army officer who served in the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant-General and was appointed Governor of Fort St. Philip in Minorca.
John Etheredge (1761-1846) was a British architect who designed several notable buildings in Bath, including the Assembly Rooms and the Grand Pump Room.
Another notable bearer was Sir Raymond Etheredge (1892-1975), a British lawyer and judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 1951 to 1962.
While the name Etheredge has its roots in the county of Wiltshire, it has since spread throughout England and other parts of the English-speaking world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Etheredge
Among Census respondents with the surname Etheredge, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.3%. The next largest groups are Black (20.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Etheredge 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 Etheredge surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.3% · 1,810
- Black or African American20.9% · 522
- Two or more races4.1% · 102
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Etheredge
Etheredge 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
#12,040
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,592
+95 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 493 places
2020
#11,942
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,503
-89 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Up 98 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,547 | 2,497 | 0.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,040 | 2,592 | 0.88 | +95 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 493 places |
| 2020 | #11,942 | 2,503 | 0.84 | -89 bearers (-3.4%) | Up 98 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 Etheredge 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 | #12,040 | #11,942 | 0.8% |
| Count | 2,592 | 2,503 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.88 | 0.84 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Etheredge bearers went from 2,592 to 2,503 (-3.4% change). The surname moved up 98 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,040 to #11,942.
FAQ
Etheredge surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Etheredge?
Name Census estimates that about 2,870 living Americans carry the surname Etheredge. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 119,427 residents.
How common is Etheredge?
Etheredge ranks #11,942 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.84 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 2,503 people with the surname Etheredge. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,870), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.84 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 Etheredge.
Has Etheredge become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Etheredge went from 2,592 recorded bearers to 2,503. That is a decrease of 89 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,040 to #11,942.
What does the Census say about the background of Etheredge?
Among Census respondents with the surname Etheredge, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.3%. The next largest groups are Black (20.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Etheredge in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.3% (1,810 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Etheredge appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.3%), Black (20.9%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Etheredge (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 Etheredge mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "dweller at the edge of a heath or wasteland." 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 Etheredge (0.84 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 Etheredge?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Etheredge, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.