2000
#11,981
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,392
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.89
Rare Last name
Horrocks
Derived from a place name meaning "dirty or muddy rocks" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,065 Americans carry the last name Horrocks. That puts it at #11,295 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.89 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 111,828 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Horrocks 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 Horrocks with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.1K
1 in 111,828
Census rank
#11,295
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,673 bearers of the surname Horrocks in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.89 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11295th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Horrocks, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (1.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Horrocks
The surname Horrocks is of English origin, deriving from the Old English words "horu" meaning dirt or mud, and "occa" referring to a ridge or hill. It is believed to have originated in the Lancashire region of England during the medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Horrocks can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire from 1332, where it appears as "Horroks". This suggests that the name had already been established in the area by the 14th century.
The Horrocks name is also mentioned in the Register of the Gild of the Holy Trinity in Coventry from 1392, indicating that members of the family had migrated to other parts of England by the late Middle Ages.
In the 16th century, the Horrocks surname appears in various records, including the Feet of Fines for Lancashire from 1557, where it is spelled "Horrokes". This document refers to land transactions involving individuals with the Horrocks name.
One notable individual with the Horrocks surname was Thomas Horrocks (c. 1530-1589), a Catholic priest and martyr who was executed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I for his religious beliefs.
In the 17th century, the Horrocks family continued to be prominent in Lancashire. John Horrocks (1619-1677) was a mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of the transit of Venus across the sun.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Horrocks name spread further throughout England and beyond. Samuel Horrocks (1768-1848) was a successful textile manufacturer and mill owner in Preston, Lancashire, who played a role in the industrialization of the region.
Another notable figure was James Horrocks (1819-1887), a British army officer who served in the Crimean War and the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery in battle.
Peter Horrocks (1942-2019) was a British journalist and television executive who served as the director of the BBC World Service and the head of the BBC's newsroom in later years.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the Horrocks surname, which has its roots in the medieval Lancashire region of England and has since spread across the English-speaking world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Horrocks
Among Census respondents with the surname Horrocks, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (1.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Horrocks 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 Horrocks surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.1% · 2,516
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 86
- Two or more races1.6% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 14
- Black or African American0.3% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Horrocks
Horrocks 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
#12,072
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,583
+191 bearers (+8.0%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 91 places
2020
#11,295
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,673
+90 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Up 777 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,981 | 2,392 | 0.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,072 | 2,583 | 0.88 | +191 bearers (+8.0%) | Down 91 places |
| 2020 | #11,295 | 2,673 | 0.89 | +90 bearers (+3.5%) | Up 777 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 Horrocks 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 | #12,072 | #11,295 | 6.4% |
| Count | 2,583 | 2,673 | 3.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.88 | 0.89 | 1.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Horrocks bearers went from 2,583 to 2,673 (+3.5% change). The surname moved up 777 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,072 to #11,295.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Horrocks
FAQ
Horrocks surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Horrocks?
Name Census estimates that about 3,065 living Americans carry the surname Horrocks. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 111,828 residents.
How common is Horrocks?
Horrocks ranks #11,295 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.89 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 2,673 people with the surname Horrocks. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,065), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.89 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.89 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 Horrocks.
Has Horrocks become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Horrocks went from 2,583 recorded bearers to 2,673. That is an increase of 90 (+3.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,072 to #11,295.
What does the Census say about the background of Horrocks?
Among Census respondents with the surname Horrocks, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Horrocks in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.1% (2,516 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Horrocks appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.1%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Horrocks (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 Horrocks mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "dirty or muddy rocks" 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 Horrocks (0.89 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 Horrocks?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Horrocks at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.