2000
#10,595
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,776
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.03
Rare Last name
Iles
Derived from a place name meaning "island" in Old English, likely referring to someone living on an island.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,202 Americans carry the last name Iles. That puts it at #10,900 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.93 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 107,044 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Iles 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 Iles with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.2K
1 in 107,044
Census rank
#10,900
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,792 bearers of the surname Iles in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.93 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10900th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Iles, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.7%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Iles
The surname ILES is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "ileg" or "ile," meaning an island or a meadow. It likely emerged as a habitational name, referring to someone who lived on an island or in a meadow.
The name first appeared in records dating back to the 12th century, with early spellings including "Ile," "Yle," and "Iley." One of the earliest recorded instances is in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1176, which mentions a William de Ile.
The Domesday Book of 1086 includes several references to places with the name "Ile" or similar spellings, suggesting that the surname may have originated from these locations. For example, it mentions "Ila" in Dorset and "Ile" in Somerset.
Notable historical figures with the surname ILES include William Iles (c. 1605-1677), an English clergyman and author, and Henry Iles (1839-1924), an English cricketer who played for Gloucestershire.
In the 16th century, the surname was sometimes spelled "Isles," as evidenced by Thomas Isles (c. 1530-1594), an English composer and organist. This variation likely arose due to the association with the word "isle" or "island."
Another noteworthy individual was Sir John Iles (1608-1648), an English lawyer and politician who served as Chief Baron of the Exchequer during the English Civil War. He was born in Wiltshire and attended the University of Oxford.
In the 18th century, William Iles (1741-1823) was a prominent English architect who designed several notable buildings, including the Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead.
The surname ILES has also been found in various place names throughout England, such as Ilesborough in Somerset and Iley in Berkshire, further indicating its longstanding presence in the region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Iles
Among Census respondents with the surname Iles, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.7%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Iles 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 Iles surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.8% · 2,227
- Black or African American12.7% · 354
- Two or more races3.4% · 94
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 88
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Iles
Iles 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
#10,819
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,944
+168 bearers (+6.1%)
Per 100,000 1.00
Rank movement Down 224 places
2020
#10,900
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,792
-152 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Down 81 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,595 | 2,776 | 1.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,819 | 2,944 | 1.00 | +168 bearers (+6.1%) | Down 224 places |
| 2020 | #10,900 | 2,792 | 0.93 | -152 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 81 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 Iles 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 | #10,819 | #10,900 | -0.7% |
| Count | 2,944 | 2,792 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.00 | 0.93 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Iles bearers went from 2,944 to 2,792 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 81 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,819 to #10,900.
FAQ
Iles surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Iles?
Name Census estimates that about 3,202 living Americans carry the surname Iles. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 107,044 residents.
How common is Iles?
Iles ranks #10,900 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.93 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 2,792 people with the surname Iles. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,202), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.93 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.93 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 Iles.
Has Iles become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Iles went from 2,944 recorded bearers to 2,792. That is a decrease of 152 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,819 to #10,900.
What does the Census say about the background of Iles?
Among Census respondents with the surname Iles, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.7%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Iles in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.8% (2,227 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Iles appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.8%), Black (12.7%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Iles (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 Iles mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "island" in Old English, likely referring to someone living on an island. 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 Iles (0.93 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 Iles?
See how many people have the surname Iles on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.