2000
#38,833
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 535
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.20
Very Rare Last name
Ironside
An Anglo-Saxon surname originating from a nickname for someone with an unyielding or robust character.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 643 Americans carry the last name Ironside. That puts it at #41,765 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.19 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 533,055 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ironside 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 Ironside with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
643
1 in 533,055
Census rank
#41,765
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
561
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 561 bearers of the surname Ironside in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.19 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 41765th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ironside, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.2%) and Hispanic (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ironside
The surname Ironside is of English origin, derived from the Old English words 'iren' meaning iron and 'side' meaning side or flank. It was likely originally a nickname given to someone who wore iron armor or was particularly hardy and strong.
The name can be traced back to the 11th century, with records showing it being used as a surname in various parts of England. One of the earliest recorded instances is in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Irenside'.
During the Middle Ages, the name was often spelled in different ways, such as 'Irneside', 'Irenssyde', and 'Ironsyde'. It was also sometimes combined with other words or place names, such as 'Ironside of Warwick' or 'Ironside of Yorkshire'.
One of the most famous individuals with the surname Ironside was Edmund Ironside (c. 990-1016), the son of King Aethelred the Unready and briefly King of England for a few months in 1016 before being defeated by Cnut the Great.
Another notable person was Sir Ralph Ironside (c. 1285-1340), an English knight who fought in the Scottish Wars of Independence under King Edward I and King Edward II. He was also a member of the Ironside family from Northumberland.
In the 16th century, there was Sir Edmund Ironside (c. 1520-1600), an English soldier and statesman who served under Queen Elizabeth I and was involved in the suppression of the Northern Rebellion in 1569.
During the English Civil War in the 17th century, Edward Ironside (1613-1688) was a prominent Parliamentarian soldier and one of the regicide judges who signed the death warrant of King Charles I.
Another historical figure was Sir Henry Ironside (1826-1901), a British Army officer who served in the Crimean War and the Indian Rebellion of 1857, and later became the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in India.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ironside
Among Census respondents with the surname Ironside, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.2%) and Hispanic (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Ironside 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 Ironside surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.4% · 479
- Two or more races6.2% · 35
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 27
- Black or African American1.6% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ironside
Ironside 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
#37,029
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 603
+68 bearers (+12.7%)
Per 100,000 0.20
Rank movement Up 1,804 places
2020
#41,765
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 561
-42 bearers (-7.0%)
Per 100,000 0.19
Rank movement Down 4,736 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #38,833 | 535 | 0.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #37,029 | 603 | 0.20 | +68 bearers (+12.7%) | Up 1,804 places |
| 2020 | #41,765 | 561 | 0.19 | -42 bearers (-7.0%) | Down 4,736 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 Ironside 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 | #37,029 | #41,765 | -12.8% |
| Count | 603 | 561 | -7.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.20 | 0.19 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ironside bearers went from 603 to 561 (-7.0% change). The surname moved down 4,736 positions in the national ranking, going from #37,029 to #41,765.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Ironside
FAQ
Ironside surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ironside?
Name Census estimates that about 643 living Americans carry the surname Ironside. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 533,055 residents.
How common is Ironside?
Ironside ranks #41,765 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.19 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 561 people with the surname Ironside. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (643), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.19 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.19 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 Ironside.
Has Ironside become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ironside went from 603 recorded bearers to 561. That is a decrease of 42 (-7.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #37,029 to #41,765.
What does the Census say about the background of Ironside?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ironside, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.2%) and Hispanic (4.8%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Ironside in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.4% (479 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ironside appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.4%), Two or More Races (6.2%), Hispanic (4.8%). 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 Ironside (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 Ironside mean?
An Anglo-Saxon surname originating from a nickname for someone with an unyielding or robust character. 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 Ironside (0.19 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 are called Ironside?
Find out how many people have the surname Ironside on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.