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

Hamilton, 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 Hamilton surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hamilton in America

Hamilton is the 119th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hamilton surname appeared 201,746 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 68 people would have the surname Hamilton.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hamilton 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 Hamilton

The surname Hamilton has its origins in the medieval Anglo-Scottish Borderlands. It is derived from the Old English words 'hamel' meaning a homestead or crooked habitation, and 'tun' meaning an enclosure or farmstead. The name likely refers to a specific place, perhaps a hamlet or farm where the earliest bearers of the name resided.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of homage rolls documenting fealty pledged to King Edward I of England. The rolls mention a Walter de Hambeldonne, thought to be an early spelling variation of Hamilton. Another early spelling variation found in records is 'Hameldon'.

The Hamilton surname is also closely associated with the town of Hamilton in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The town's name is believed to have originated from the same Old English roots as the surname, and it is likely that the earliest bearers of the Hamilton name hailed from this area.

One of the most notable historical figures with the Hamilton surname is Sir William Hamilton, born in 1788 and died in 1856. He was a renowned Scottish antiquarian and diplomat who served as the British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples.

Another prominent bearer of the name was Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Born in 1755 or 1757 in the British West Indies, he served as the first United States Secretary of the Treasury under President George Washington.

In the literary world, the Hamilton surname was borne by Edith Hamilton, an American educator and writer born in 1867 and died in 1963. She is best known for her works on Greek mythology and ancient civilizations.

The name Hamilton has also been associated with nobility and landed gentry. One example is James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn, born in 1869 and died in 1953. He was a British nobleman and landowner who served as the Governor of Northern Ireland from 1922 to 1945.

Another notable figure is Sir Ian Hamilton, a British Army officer born in 1853 and died in 1947. He commanded the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force during the Gallipoli Campaign of World War I.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hamilton

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

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 Hamilton 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 Hamilton 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 Hamilton was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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