2000
#5,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,009
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.23
Rare Last name
Homer
An occupational surname for a homing pigeon keeper or a maker of homing pigeons' cages.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,648 Americans carry the last name Homer. That puts it at #5,763 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 51,558 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Homer 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 Homer with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.6K
1 in 51,558
Census rank
#5,763
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,797 bearers of the surname Homer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5763rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Homer, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.5%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Homer
The surname Homer originated in England during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word "hom," which means a homestead or a dwelling place. This name was likely given to someone who lived in a remote or isolated area, or perhaps to someone who owned a homestead.
The earliest recorded instances of the Homer surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The Domesday Book lists several individuals with the surname Homer or similar spellings, such as Homere or Homere.
During the Middle Ages, the Homer surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk. Some early examples of place names associated with the surname include Homer's Hill in Lincolnshire and Homer's Green in Norfolk.
One of the earliest known individuals with the Homer surname was John Homer, a merchant who lived in London during the 14th century. Another notable bearer of the name was Sir William Homer, a member of the English gentry who served as a Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire in the 16th century.
In the 17th century, the Homer surname gained prominence with the rise of the poet John Homer (1585-1639), who is considered one of the leading figures of the English Renaissance. His most famous work is the epic poem "The Iliad," which tells the story of the Trojan War.
Another famous bearer of the Homer surname was Winslow Homer (1836-1910), an American landscape painter and printmaker who is widely regarded as one of the greatest American artists of the 19th century. His works often depicted scenes of rural life and coastal landscapes in New England.
Other notable individuals with the Homer surname include the English cricketer Jack Homer (1895-1952), who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club in the early 20th century, and the American actor Buddy Homer (1928-2006), who appeared in numerous television shows and films throughout his career.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Homer
Among Census respondents with the surname Homer, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.5%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Homer 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 Homer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.1% · 4,585
- Black or African American8.5% · 493
- Two or more races4.4% · 255
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.1% · 235
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 184
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 45
Timeline
Historical Census data for Homer
Homer 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
#5,610
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,198
+189 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 2.10
Rank movement Down 271 places
2020
#5,763
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,797
-401 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 1.94
Rank movement Down 153 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,339 | 6,009 | 2.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,610 | 6,198 | 2.10 | +189 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 271 places |
| 2020 | #5,763 | 5,797 | 1.94 | -401 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 153 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 Homer 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 | #5,610 | #5,763 | -2.7% |
| Count | 6,198 | 5,797 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.10 | 1.94 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Homer bearers went from 6,198 to 5,797 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 153 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,610 to #5,763.
FAQ
Homer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Homer?
Name Census estimates that about 6,648 living Americans carry the surname Homer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 51,558 residents.
How common is Homer?
Homer ranks #5,763 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.94 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 5,797 people with the surname Homer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,648), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.94 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 Homer.
Has Homer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Homer went from 6,198 recorded bearers to 5,797. That is a decrease of 401 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,610 to #5,763.
What does the Census say about the background of Homer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Homer, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.5%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Homer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.1% (4,585 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Homer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.1%), Black (8.5%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Homer (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 Homer mean?
An occupational surname for a homing pigeon keeper or a maker of homing pigeons' cages. 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 Homer (1.94 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 are called Homer?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Homer on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.