2000
#14,831
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,834
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.68
Rare Last name
Herrod
Derived from a place name meaning "heather-covered road" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,209 Americans carry the last name Herrod. That puts it at #14,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 155,163 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Herrod 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 Herrod with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 155,163
Census rank
#14,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,926 bearers of the surname Herrod in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Herrod, the largest self-reported group is White at 49.3%. The next largest groups are Black (37.3%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Herrod
The surname Herrod is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is thought to derive from the Old English words "here" meaning army and "rod" meaning a clearing or meadow. Thus, the name likely referred to someone who lived near an army encampment or clearing.
The earliest known record of the Herrod name dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners in England after the Norman Conquest. An entry lists a Richard Herrod as holding lands in Oxfordshire. This suggests the name was already well-established by the late 11th century.
Over the centuries, various spellings emerged including Herrod, Herrode, Herroid, and Herod. Some of these variant spellings were used interchangeably by families in different regions. The name was particularly prevalent in the Midlands of England during the Middle Ages.
One notable bearer of the Herrod name was John Herrod (c.1580-1654), an English clergyman who served as the Rector of Stratford-upon-Avon and baptized the famous playwright William Shakespeare's son. Another early example is Thomas Herrod (1614-1678), an English Puritan clergyman and supporter of Oliver Cromwell.
In the 18th century, Matthew Herrod (1731-1807) was a wealthy English industrialist and manufacturer of brass goods in Birmingham. His success contributed to the family's prominence in the West Midlands region.
Moving into the 19th century, Edith Herrod (1853-1935) was an English painter and artist known for her landscape works depicting rural scenes. She exhibited frequently at the Royal Academy in London.
Finally, one of the most famous bearers was Sir Edmund Perry Herrod (1892-1982), a highly decorated British Army officer who served with distinction in both World War I and World War II. He was awarded the Military Cross and the Distinguished Service Order for his bravery and leadership.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Herrod
Among Census respondents with the surname Herrod, the largest self-reported group is White at 49.3%. The next largest groups are Black (37.3%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Herrod 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 Herrod surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.3% · 949
- Black or African American37.3% · 719
- Two or more races5.4% · 104
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 65
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.2% · 62
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 27
Timeline
Historical Census data for Herrod
Herrod 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
#14,866
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,992
+158 bearers (+8.6%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 35 places
2020
#14,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,926
-66 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Up 78 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,831 | 1,834 | 0.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,866 | 1,992 | 0.68 | +158 bearers (+8.6%) | Down 35 places |
| 2020 | #14,788 | 1,926 | 0.64 | -66 bearers (-3.3%) | Up 78 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 Herrod 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 | #14,866 | #14,788 | 0.5% |
| Count | 1,992 | 1,926 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.68 | 0.64 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Herrod bearers went from 1,992 to 1,926 (-3.3% change). The surname moved up 78 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,866 to #14,788.
FAQ
Herrod surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Herrod?
Name Census estimates that about 2,209 living Americans carry the surname Herrod. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 155,163 residents.
How common is Herrod?
Herrod ranks #14,788 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.64 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 1,926 people with the surname Herrod. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,209), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.64 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 Herrod.
Has Herrod become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Herrod went from 1,992 recorded bearers to 1,926. That is a decrease of 66 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,866 to #14,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Herrod?
Among Census respondents with the surname Herrod, the largest self-reported group is White at 49.3%. The next largest groups are Black (37.3%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Herrod in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.3% (949 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Herrod appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (49.3%), Black (37.3%), Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Herrod (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 Herrod mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "heather-covered road" in Old English. 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 Herrod (0.64 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 Herrod?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.