2000
#4,284
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,667
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.84
Rare Last name
Herrin
An English occupational surname referring to someone who worked as a herdsman or tender of animals.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,237 Americans carry the last name Herrin. That puts it at #4,777 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.40 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 41,612 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Herrin 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 Herrin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.2K
1 in 41,612
Census rank
#4,777
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,183 bearers of the surname Herrin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.40 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4777th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Herrin, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Herrin
The surname HERRIN is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "hering" or "hæring," meaning "a follower" or "an adherent." This surname likely originated in the 13th century and was initially given as a descriptive name to someone who followed a particular leader, religious figure, or patron.
The earliest recorded instance of the name HERRIN can be traced back to the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, where it appears as "Heringe." This document was a census-like record of landholders in England at the time. The name was also found in various medieval records, such as the Pipe Rolls of 1195, where it was spelled "Hering."
In the 14th century, the surname HERRIN appeared in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire, England, in the form of "Heryng." This suggests that the name was present in the Worcestershire region during that period.
One notable bearer of the HERRIN surname was John Herring (c. 1480-1554), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire during the reign of Henry VIII. Another prominent figure was Thomas Herring (1693-1757), an English clergyman who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1747 until his death.
The surname HERRIN has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Herringfleet in Suffolk and Herrington in Durham. These place names likely derived from the Old English word "hering," meaning "a follower" or "adherent," further reinforcing the connection between the surname and its original meaning.
Other notable individuals with the HERRIN surname include:
1. Robert Herring (1824-1906), an English architect known for designing several buildings in London.
2. Hubert Herring (1863-1950), a British politician and Member of Parliament for Loughborough from 1906 to 1918.
3. Mildred Herring (1893-1975), an American author and journalist who wrote extensively about social issues and women's rights.
4. Jeanette Herring (1910-1992), a British Olympic swimmer who competed in the 1928 and 1932 Summer Olympics.
5. George Herring (1936-2022), an American historian and professor who specialized in the study of U.S. foreign relations.
Over the centuries, the HERRIN surname has been subject to various spellings, including Hering, Heringe, Heryng, and Herring, reflecting the evolution of language and regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Herrin
Among Census respondents with the surname Herrin, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Herrin 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 Herrin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.0% · 6,247
- Black or African American5.2% · 370
- Two or more races3.8% · 273
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 198
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 55
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 40
Timeline
Historical Census data for Herrin
Herrin 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
#4,576
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,755
+88 bearers (+1.1%)
Per 100,000 2.63
Rank movement Down 292 places
2020
#4,777
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,183
-572 bearers (-7.4%)
Per 100,000 2.40
Rank movement Down 201 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,284 | 7,667 | 2.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,576 | 7,755 | 2.63 | +88 bearers (+1.1%) | Down 292 places |
| 2020 | #4,777 | 7,183 | 2.40 | -572 bearers (-7.4%) | Down 201 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 Herrin 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 | #4,576 | #4,777 | -4.4% |
| Count | 7,755 | 7,183 | -7.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.63 | 2.40 | -8.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Herrin bearers went from 7,755 to 7,183 (-7.4% change). The surname moved down 201 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,576 to #4,777.
FAQ
Herrin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Herrin?
Name Census estimates that about 8,237 living Americans carry the surname Herrin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 41,612 residents.
How common is Herrin?
Herrin ranks #4,777 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.40 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,183 people with the surname Herrin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,237), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.4 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.40 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Herrin.
Has Herrin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Herrin went from 7,755 recorded bearers to 7,183. That is a decrease of 572 (-7.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,576 to #4,777.
What does the Census say about the background of Herrin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Herrin, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Herrin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.0% (6,247 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Herrin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.0%), Black (5.2%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Herrin (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 Herrin mean?
An English occupational surname referring to someone who worked as a herdsman or tender of animals. 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 Herrin (2.40 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 share the surname Herrin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.