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

Herndon, 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 Herndon surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Herndon in America

Herndon is the 1871st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Herndon surname appeared 19,183 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Herndon.

We can also compare 2010 data for Herndon 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 Herndon

The surname HERNDON is an English habitational name derived from the place name Herndon, which is a village in Hertfordshire, England. The name is believed to have originated from the Old English words "hern" meaning "heron" and "dun" meaning "hill" or "down". Therefore, the name HERNDON likely referred to a person who lived near a hill or down where herons were found.

The name HERNDON can be traced back to the 12th century in England. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Pipe Rolls of Hertfordshire in 1195, which mentions a person named William de Herndon.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, the village of Herndon is listed as "Herenduna", which further supports the derivation of the name from the Old English words "hern" and "dun".

Notable people with the surname HERNDON include:

1. William S. Herndon (1818-1891), a law partner and biographer of Abraham Lincoln.
2. Joseph Herndon (1793-1857), an American naval officer who served during the War of 1812.
3. Thomas Herndon (c. 1690-1782), an early settler in Virginia and founder of the town of Herndon, Virginia.
4. William H. Herndon (1813-1857), an American explorer who led an expedition to explore the Amazon River in South America.
5. John W. Herndon (1816-1886), a Confederate Army officer during the American Civil War.

The name HERNDON has also been associated with various place names, such as Herndon, Virginia, which was named after Thomas Herndon, the town's founder. Additionally, there are variations in the spelling of the name, including Hernden and Herndown, which further highlight its connection to the Old English roots.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Herndon

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

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

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

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