2000
#5,405
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,933
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.20
Rare Last name
Flack
An occupational surname for someone who made or sold flax, a plant used to produce linen cloth.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,520 Americans carry the last name Flack. That puts it at #5,855 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.90 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 52,570 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Flack 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 Flack with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.5K
1 in 52,570
Census rank
#5,855
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,686 bearers of the surname Flack in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.90 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5855th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Flack, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Flack
The surname Flack is believed to have originated in England, likely in the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old English word "flac," meaning a flake or a flat surface. This could suggest that the name initially referred to someone who lived on a flat or level piece of land.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, where a person named William Flak is mentioned. The Hundred Rolls were administrative records compiled during the reign of King Edward I.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in various forms, such as Flacke, Flake, and Fleck. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and the inconsistencies in spelling during that era.
The Flack surname is also associated with several place names in England, such as Flackwell Heath in Buckinghamshire and Flecknoe in Warwickshire. These place names may have influenced the development of the surname or vice versa.
Notable individuals with the surname Flack throughout history include:
1. Sir John Flack (c. 1560-1624), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Winchelsea in 1604.
2. John Flack (1766-1848), an English architect known for designing several churches and other buildings in the Regency style.
3. William Flack (1801-1874), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and later became a Rear Admiral.
4. Audrey Flack (born 1931), an American photorealist painter and sculptor known for her pioneering work in the photorealist and post-modern movements.
5. Robyn Flack (born 1964), an Australian singer-songwriter and musician, best known for her hit singles "Holding On" and "Beating Heart."
While the Flack surname may not have been as prominent as some others throughout history, it has persisted over centuries and can be traced back to its English roots and the Old English word "flac."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Flack
Among Census respondents with the surname Flack, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Flack 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 Flack surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.5% · 4,802
- Black or African American9.0% · 513
- Two or more races3.0% · 169
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 162
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Flack
Flack 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
#5,759
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,016
+83 bearers (+1.4%)
Per 100,000 2.04
Rank movement Down 354 places
2020
#5,855
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,686
-330 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 1.90
Rank movement Down 96 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,405 | 5,933 | 2.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,759 | 6,016 | 2.04 | +83 bearers (+1.4%) | Down 354 places |
| 2020 | #5,855 | 5,686 | 1.90 | -330 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 96 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 Flack 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 | #5,759 | #5,855 | -1.7% |
| Count | 6,016 | 5,686 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.04 | 1.90 | -6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Flack bearers went from 6,016 to 5,686 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 96 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,759 to #5,855.
FAQ
Flack surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Flack?
Name Census estimates that about 6,520 living Americans carry the surname Flack. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 52,570 residents.
How common is Flack?
Flack ranks #5,855 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.90 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,686 people with the surname Flack. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,520), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.9 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.90 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Flack.
Has Flack become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Flack went from 6,016 recorded bearers to 5,686. That is a decrease of 330 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,759 to #5,855.
What does the Census say about the background of Flack?
Among Census respondents with the surname Flack, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Flack in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.5% (4,802 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Flack appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.5%), Black (9.0%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Flack (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 Flack mean?
An occupational surname for someone who made or sold flax, a plant used to produce linen cloth. 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 Flack (1.90 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 Flack?
See how many people are called Flack on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.