2000
#446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 66,665
First available Census row
Per 100,000 24.71
Uncommon Last name
Ingram
An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "Inga's homestead" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 75,822 Americans carry the last name Ingram. That puts it at #496 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 22.12 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 4,521 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ingram 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 Ingram with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
76K
1 in 4,521
Census rank
#496
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
22.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
66K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 66,120 bearers of the surname Ingram in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 22.12 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 496th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ingram, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.8%. The next largest groups are Black (32.2%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ingram
The surname Ingram is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "ing" meaning a meadow or enclosure, and "gram" meaning a young man or servant. It is believed to have originated as a locational surname, given to someone who lived near a meadow or enclosure belonging to a young man or servant.
The name is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Ingeham" and "Ingraham." This suggests that the name was already well-established in England by the 11th century.
The earliest known bearer of the name was William Ingram, who was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1197. In the 13th century, the name appeared as "Inggram" and "Yngram" in various records from counties like Norfolk and Lincolnshire.
Over time, the spelling of the name evolved to its modern form of "Ingram." One of the earliest instances of this spelling can be found in the records of the Minster of York in 1379, where a certain Robert Ingram was mentioned.
Notable bearers of the surname Ingram include:
1. Sir Arthur Ingram (1565-1642), an English landowner and Member of Parliament who was instrumental in draining the Fens of East Anglia.
2. Robert Ingram (1571-1644), an English merchant and Member of Parliament who was one of the founders of the East India Company.
3. Jared Ingram (1749-1822), an American soldier and politician who served as a Senator from Pennsylvania.
4. Clement Ingram (1781-1868), an English philanthropist and founder of the Ingram Trust, which provided support for poor clergy and their families.
5. Herbert Ingram (1811-1860), an English journalist and founder of The Illustrated London News, one of the first illustrated weekly newspapers.
The name Ingram has also been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Ingram in Northumberland, Ingram's Green in Berkshire, and Ingram's Dene in Durham. These place names may have contributed to the spread and adoption of the surname in different regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ingram
Among Census respondents with the surname Ingram, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.8%. The next largest groups are Black (32.2%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Ingram 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 Ingram surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.8% · 38,877
- Black or African American32.2% · 21,315
- Two or more races4.6% · 3,013
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 2,237
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 342
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 336
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ingram
Ingram 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
#484
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 69,345
+2,680 bearers (+4.0%)
Per 100,000 23.51
Rank movement Down 38 places
2020
#496
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 66,120
-3,225 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 22.12
Rank movement Down 12 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #446 | 66,665 | 24.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #484 | 69,345 | 23.51 | +2,680 bearers (+4.0%) | Down 38 places |
| 2020 | #496 | 66,120 | 22.12 | -3,225 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 12 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 Ingram 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 | #484 | #496 | -2.5% |
| Count | 69,345 | 66,120 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 23.51 | 22.12 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ingram bearers went from 69,345 to 66,120 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 12 positions in the national ranking, going from #484 to #496.
FAQ
Ingram surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ingram?
Name Census estimates that about 75,822 living Americans carry the surname Ingram. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 4,521 residents.
How common is Ingram?
Ingram ranks #496 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 22.12 per 100,000 residents, which is about 22 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 66,120 people with the surname Ingram. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (75,822), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 22.12 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 22.12 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 22 of them to have the surname Ingram.
Has Ingram become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ingram went from 69,345 recorded bearers to 66,120. That is a decrease of 3,225 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #484 to #496.
What does the Census say about the background of Ingram?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ingram, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.8%. The next largest groups are Black (32.2%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Ingram in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.8% (38,877 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ingram appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (58.8%), Black (32.2%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Ingram (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 Ingram mean?
An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "Inga's homestead" 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 Ingram (22.12 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 have the surname Ingram?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.