2000
#3,219
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,169
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.77
Uncommon Last name
Ingle
English habitational surname referring to someone who lived near a beacon fire or furnace.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,567 Americans carry the last name Ingle. That puts it at #3,457 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.37 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 29,632 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ingle 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 Ingle with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
12K
1 in 29,632
Census rank
#3,457
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
10K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 10,087 bearers of the surname Ingle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.37 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3457th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ingle, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ingle
The surname Ingle is of English origin and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "ing" (meadow or pasture) and "heal" (nook or corner), which together form the meaning "dweller in the nook or corner of a meadow or pasture."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ingle can be found in the Feet of Fines records for Essex in 1285, where a person named Richard de Ingel is mentioned. The name also appears in the Subsidy Rolls for Lancashire in 1332, where it is spelled as "Yngyll."
During the medieval period, the name Ingle was primarily concentrated in the northern counties of England, particularly in Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Westmorland. It is possible that the name originated as a topographic surname, describing someone who lived in a particular location near a meadow or pasture.
An early bearer of the name Ingle was Robert Ingle, who was born in Yorkshire around 1480. He was a prominent merchant and served as the Mayor of York in 1522. Another notable figure was Sir William Ingle, who lived in the 16th century and was a Member of Parliament for Middlesex in 1558.
In the 17th century, the name Ingle gained some prominence in the American colonies. Edward Ingle, born around 1597 in England, was a Protestant rebel and pirate who led an uprising against the Catholic government of Maryland in 1645. He later received a pardon and settled in Virginia.
Another individual of note was Obadiah Ingle, born in 1635 in Lancashire, England. He emigrated to Maryland in the late 17th century and became a prosperous landowner and planter. His descendants played significant roles in the American Revolutionary War and the early history of the United States.
Other notable bearers of the surname Ingle include Sir John Ingle, a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century, and Reverend Richard Ingle, an Anglican clergyman and author who lived in the late 18th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ingle
Among Census respondents with the surname Ingle, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Ingle 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 Ingle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.9% · 8,869
- Two or more races4.2% · 421
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 377
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 256
- Black or African American1.0% · 105
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 59
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ingle
Ingle 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
#3,409
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,497
+328 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 3.56
Rank movement Down 190 places
2020
#3,457
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,087
-410 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 3.37
Rank movement Down 48 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,219 | 10,169 | 3.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,409 | 10,497 | 3.56 | +328 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 190 places |
| 2020 | #3,457 | 10,087 | 3.37 | -410 bearers (-3.9%) | Down 48 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 Ingle 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 | #3,409 | #3,457 | -1.4% |
| Count | 10,497 | 10,087 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 3.56 | 3.37 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ingle bearers went from 10,497 to 10,087 (-3.9% change). The surname moved down 48 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,409 to #3,457.
FAQ
Ingle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ingle?
Name Census estimates that about 11,567 living Americans carry the surname Ingle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 29,632 residents.
How common is Ingle?
Ingle ranks #3,457 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.37 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 10,087 people with the surname Ingle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,567), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.37 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.37 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Ingle.
Has Ingle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ingle went from 10,497 recorded bearers to 10,087. That is a decrease of 410 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,409 to #3,457.
What does the Census say about the background of Ingle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ingle, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Ingle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.9% (8,869 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ingle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.9%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Ingle (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 Ingle mean?
English habitational surname referring to someone who lived near a beacon fire or furnace. 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 Ingle (3.37 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 Ingle?
You can see how many people have the last name Ingle on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.