2010
#136,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Honors
An English surname derived from the Old French "honur" meaning honor or respect.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Honors. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Honors 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.
Bearers in the US
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Honors in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Honors, the largest self-reported group is Black at 54.2%. The next largest groups are White (38.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (5.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Honors
The surname Honors has its origins in England, with records dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word "honor," which means respect or esteem. The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone who held a position of honor or was highly respected within their community.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Honors can be found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which listed individuals holding land in various counties across England. The entry "Henricus Honurs" appears in the records for Oxfordshire, suggesting the name was already in use by that time.
During the Middle Ages, the Honors family was primarily concentrated in the southern counties of England, particularly in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. Several members of the family are mentioned in local parish records and tax rolls from the 14th and 15th centuries.
In the 16th century, the surname Honors gained prominence with the birth of Sir Robert Honors (1532-1598), a wealthy landowner and member of the gentry in Gloucestershire. He served as a Member of Parliament and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I in recognition of his service to the Crown.
Another notable figure bearing the Honors surname was Richard Honors (1601-1672), an English clergyman who served as the Bishop of Norwich during the turbulent period of the English Civil War. He was a staunch Royalist and was briefly imprisoned by the Parliamentarian forces for his allegiance to King Charles I.
The Honors name also has connections to the village of Honoursmere in Warwickshire, which may have derived its name from an early landowner or local family bearing the Honors surname. This place name is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Honuresmere."
Other historical figures with the Honors surname include:
1. John Honors (1670-1736), a renowned English architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Church of St. Mary-le-Strand.
2. Elizabeth Honors (1735-1812), a British writer and poet who published several collections of poems and plays during the 18th century.
3. William Honors (1819-1897), a Scottish-born architect and civil engineer who contributed to the design and construction of several major railways and bridges in Australia during the 19th century.
4. Margaret Honors (1872-1949), a British suffragette and activist who campaigned for women's rights and played a significant role in the women's suffrage movement in the early 20th century.
5. Sir George Honors (1902-1981), a British diplomat and former Ambassador to the United States, who played a crucial role in maintaining strong diplomatic relations between the two countries during the Cold War era.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Honors
Among Census respondents with the surname Honors, the largest self-reported group is Black at 54.2%. The next largest groups are White (38.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (5.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Honors 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 Honors surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American54.2% · 65
- White38.3% · 46
- American Indian and Alaska Native5.8% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Honors
Honors appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-3 bearers (-2.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,600 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #136,449 | 123 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.4%) | Down 5,600 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 Honors 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 | #136,449 | #142,049 | -4.1% |
| Count | 123 | 120 | -2.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Honors bearers went from 123 to 120 (-2.4% change). The surname moved down 5,600 positions in the national ranking, going from #136,449 to #142,049.
FAQ
Honors surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Honors?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Honors. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Honors?
Honors ranks #142,049 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 120 people with the surname Honors. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Honors.
Has Honors become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Honors went from 123 recorded bearers to 120. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #136,449 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Honors?
Among Census respondents with the surname Honors, the largest self-reported group is Black at 54.2%. The next largest groups are White (38.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (5.8%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Honors in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.2% (65 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Honors appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (54.2%), White (38.3%), American Indian/Alaska Native (5.8%). 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 Honors (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 Honors mean?
An English surname derived from the Old French "honur" meaning honor or respect. 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 Honors (0.04 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 common is the surname Honors?
See how many people are called Honors on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.