2000
#11,766
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,438
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.90
Rare Last name
Glasco
A Scottish toponymic surname derived from a place near Aberdeenshire, likely meaning "green hollow" in Gaelic.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,695 Americans carry the last name Glasco. That puts it at #12,575 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 127,182 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Glasco 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.
Bearers in the US
2.7K
1 in 127,182
Census rank
#12,575
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,350 bearers of the surname Glasco in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12575th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Glasco, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.2%. The next largest groups are Black (40.7%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Glasco
The surname Glasco is believed to have originated in Scotland, likely in the late medieval period around the 13th or 14th century. It is thought to be a variant spelling of the place name Glasgow, which itself derives from the Brittonic Celtic words "glas" meaning "green" and "cau" meaning "hollow" or "ravine".
The earliest recorded instances of the Glasco surname appear in Scottish records from the 15th and 16th centuries, often spelled as Glasgo, Glascow, or similar variations. It is possible that the name was initially borne by individuals who hailed from the city of Glasgow or the surrounding area.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are no direct references to the Glasco surname. However, there are mentions of the settlement of "Greslic" in Staffordshire, which may have been an early form of the place name Glasgow.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Glasco surname was John Glasco, a merchant and burgess of Edinburgh, who was recorded in documents from the late 15th century. Another early example is Robert Glasco, a Scottish cleric who served as the Provost of the Collegiate Church of St. Mary's in Biggar in the early 16th century.
In the 17th century, a notable figure with the Glasco surname was James Glasco, a Scottish minister and author who was born in 1612 and published works on theology and ecclesiastical history. Around the same time, there was also a John Glasco who served as the Provost of Abernethy in Perthshire in the 1660s.
Moving into the 18th century, one prominent individual with the Glasco surname was Alexander Glasco, a Scottish merchant and landowner who was born in 1718 and owned estates in Renfrewshire. Another was William Glasco, a Scottish soldier who fought in the Jacobite Rising of 1745 and was later executed for his involvement.
As the Glasco surname spread beyond Scotland, it also took on various spellings and variations in other regions, such as Glascoe and Glascow in England and Glasco or Glascoe in parts of North America where Scottish immigrants settled.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Glasco
Among Census respondents with the surname Glasco, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.2%. The next largest groups are Black (40.7%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Glasco 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 Glasco surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.2% · 1,132
- Black or African American40.7% · 956
- Two or more races5.2% · 122
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 104
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Glasco
Glasco 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
#11,540
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,725
+287 bearers (+11.8%)
Per 100,000 0.92
Rank movement Up 226 places
2020
#12,575
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,350
-375 bearers (-13.8%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 1,035 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,766 | 2,438 | 0.90 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,540 | 2,725 | 0.92 | +287 bearers (+11.8%) | Up 226 places |
| 2020 | #12,575 | 2,350 | 0.79 | -375 bearers (-13.8%) | Down 1,035 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 Glasco 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 | #11,540 | #12,575 | -9.0% |
| Count | 2,725 | 2,350 | -13.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.92 | 0.79 | -14.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Glasco bearers went from 2,725 to 2,350 (-13.8% change). The surname moved down 1,035 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,540 to #12,575.
FAQ
Glasco surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Glasco?
Name Census estimates that about 2,695 living Americans carry the surname Glasco. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 127,182 residents.
How common is Glasco?
Glasco ranks #12,575 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.79 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 2,350 people with the surname Glasco. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,695), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.79 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 Glasco.
Has Glasco become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Glasco went from 2,725 recorded bearers to 2,350. That is a decrease of 375 (-13.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,540 to #12,575.
What does the Census say about the background of Glasco?
Among Census respondents with the surname Glasco, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.2%. The next largest groups are Black (40.7%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Glasco in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.2% (1,132 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Glasco appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (48.2%), Black (40.7%), Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Glasco (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 Glasco mean?
A Scottish toponymic surname derived from a place near Aberdeenshire, likely meaning "green hollow" in Gaelic. 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 Glasco (0.79 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 last name Glasco?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Glasco on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.