2000
#774
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 40,582
First available Census row
Per 100,000 15.04
Uncommon Last name
Frost
An English occupational surname referring to someone who lived near a frozen stream or had a cold personality.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 46,753 Americans carry the last name Frost. That puts it at #830 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 13.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 7,331 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Frost 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 Frost with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
47K
1 in 7,331
Census rank
#830
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
13.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
41K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 40,771 bearers of the surname Frost in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 13.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 830th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Frost, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.4%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Frost
The surname FROST has its origins in England, specifically in the northern counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire. It dates back to the late 12th century and is derived from the Old English word "frost," meaning the frozen water vapor that forms ice crystals. The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname or occupational name for someone who lived in a particularly cold or frosty area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the FROST surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1194, where it is listed as "Gaufridus Frost." The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 also mention a "Robert Frost" from Cambridgeshire. This suggests that the name had already spread to other parts of England by the 13th century.
In the 14th century, the FROST surname appears in various records, including the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379, which lists a "Johannes Frost" from Howden. The name is also mentioned in the Calendars of Wills from London, with a "John Frost" being recorded in 1392.
One notable historical figure with the FROST surname was Sir John Frost (c. 1470-1537), who was a wealthy merchant and member of the Worshipful Company of Drapers in London. He served as Lord Mayor of London in 1524.
Another prominent individual was the 17th-century English poet, Robert Frost (1594-1669), who was born in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. He is known for his collection of religious poems titled "Emblemes of Divine and Moral Discourses," published in 1635.
In the 18th century, the FROST surname continued to be well-represented, with individuals such as William Frost (1737-1805), an English artist and engraver known for his landscape paintings and etchings of English scenery.
Moving into the 19th century, one notable figure was John Frost (1784-1877), a Welsh leader of the Chartist movement, who led the Newport Rising in 1839 in an attempt to gain greater political rights for working-class people.
Finally, the 20th century saw the rise of the renowned American poet, Robert Lee Frost (1874-1963), who was born in San Francisco but spent most of his life in New England. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest poets in American literature and is famous for works such as "The Road Not Taken" and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Frost
Among Census respondents with the surname Frost, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.4%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Frost 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 Frost surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.4% · 34,013
- Black or African American7.7% · 3,127
- Two or more races3.9% · 1,600
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 1,318
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 374
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 339
Timeline
Historical Census data for Frost
Frost 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
#822
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 42,015
+1,433 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 14.24
Rank movement Down 48 places
2020
#830
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 40,771
-1,244 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 13.64
Rank movement Down 8 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #774 | 40,582 | 15.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #822 | 42,015 | 14.24 | +1,433 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 48 places |
| 2020 | #830 | 40,771 | 13.64 | -1,244 bearers (-3.0%) | Down 8 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 Frost 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 | #822 | #830 | -1.0% |
| Count | 42,015 | 40,771 | -3.0% |
| Per 100K | 14.24 | 13.64 | -4.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Frost bearers went from 42,015 to 40,771 (-3.0% change). The surname moved down 8 positions in the national ranking, going from #822 to #830.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Frost
FAQ
Frost surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Frost?
Name Census estimates that about 46,753 living Americans carry the surname Frost. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 7,331 residents.
How common is Frost?
Frost ranks #830 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 13.64 per 100,000 residents, which is about 14 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 40,771 people with the surname Frost. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (46,753), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 13.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 13.64 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 14 of them to have the surname Frost.
Has Frost become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Frost went from 42,015 recorded bearers to 40,771. That is a decrease of 1,244 (-3.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #822 to #830.
What does the Census say about the background of Frost?
Among Census respondents with the surname Frost, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.4%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Frost in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.4% (34,013 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Frost appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.4%), Black (7.7%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Frost (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 Frost mean?
An English occupational surname referring to someone who lived near a frozen stream or had a cold personality. 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 Frost (13.64 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 Frost?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.