Find out how popular the last name Floyd is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Floyd.

Floyd, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Floyd surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Floyd in America

Floyd is the 505th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Floyd surname appeared 66,454 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 23 people would have the surname Floyd.

We can also compare 2010 data for Floyd to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Floyd

The surname Floyd is of English origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word "flod," meaning "flood" or "stream." The name likely referred to someone who lived near a river or other body of water.

In the 13th century, the name is recorded as "Flod" in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire, England. The Hundred Rolls were administrative records of landholders compiled between 1273 and 1275, providing early evidence of the name's use.

By the late 13th century, the name had evolved to its modern spelling, "Floyd." The earliest known record of this spelling is found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275, which lists a person named "Robertus Floyd."

The name Floyd is also associated with several place names in England, such as Floyd's Green in Staffordshire and Floyd's Park in Buckinghamshire. These place names likely originated from individuals bearing the surname who lived in or owned those areas.

Notable historical figures with the surname Floyd include:

1. Sir John Floyd (c. 1480 - 1541), an English soldier and Member of Parliament during the reign of Henry VIII.
2. Edward Floyd (1587 - 1670), one of the original settlers of the Virginia Colony and a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses.
3. William Floyd (1734 - 1821), an American Revolutionary War general and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence.
4. John Floyd (1783 - 1837), an American surveyor, explorer, and the first governor of the Virginia Territory (now the state of Washington).
5. John Buchanan Floyd (1806 - 1863), an American politician who served as the 33rd Governor of Virginia and as the Secretary of War under President James Buchanan.

The surname Floyd has a rich history dating back to medieval England, with its origins rooted in Old English vocabulary related to bodies of water. Over the centuries, it has been carried by notable individuals across various fields, from politics and military to exploration and settlement.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Floyd

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Floyd.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Floyd was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Floyd has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Floyd was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Floyd, please contact us.

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