2000
#930
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 34,374
First available Census row
Per 100,000 12.74
Uncommon Last name
Irwin
Derived from a place name meaning "boar friend" in Old English, likely referring to a hunter or one who kept boars.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 37,138 Americans carry the last name Irwin. That puts it at #1,063 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 10.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 9,229 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Irwin 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 Irwin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
37K
1 in 9,229
Census rank
#1,063
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
10.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
32K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 32,386 bearers of the surname Irwin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 10.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1063rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Irwin, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Irwin
The surname Irwin originated in Scotland and is believed to have derived from the Old English words "ire" meaning green and "wyn" meaning friend or lover, suggesting it was initially a descriptive name for someone with an affinity for nature or greenery. It may also have roots in the ancient Scottish kingdom of Strathclyde, where the name first emerged as a territorial designation.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Irwin can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of homage rolls submitted to King Edward I of England, which included the name Irvyn de Dugalstone. This suggests the name was already well-established in Scotland by the late 13th century.
The Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landholdings in England compiled in 1086, does not mention the name Irwin, further reinforcing its Scottish origins. However, the name is found in other early Scottish records, such as the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, which date back to the 13th and 14th centuries.
Historically, the Irwin family held significant influence and land holdings in Ayrshire, Scotland. One notable member of the clan was Sir John Irwin (c. 1330-1391), who served as Lord High Chamberlain of Scotland and played a crucial role in the Scottish Wars of Independence against England.
Another prominent figure bearing the Irwin surname was William Irwin (1611-1683), an Anglo-Irish soldier and landowner who served as Lord President of Munster in Ireland during the reign of Charles II. He was a key figure in the suppression of the Irish Rebellion of 1641.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the Irwin surname dates back to the 17th century, with the arrival of Robert Irwin, who settled in Virginia in 1635. Another notable American with the surname was August Irwin (1853-1924), a businessman and philanthropist who founded the Irwin Auditorium in Philadelphia.
Other historical figures with the Irwin surname include Sir Gerard Irwin (1847-1924), a British colonial administrator who served as Governor of the Bahamas and British Guiana, and Robert Irwin (1928-2018), a highly acclaimed British historian and author known for his works on the Middle East and Islamic culture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Irwin
Among Census respondents with the surname Irwin, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Irwin 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 Irwin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.4% · 28,961
- Two or more races3.6% · 1,170
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 1,101
- Black or African American2.1% · 678
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 282
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 194
Timeline
Historical Census data for Irwin
Irwin 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
#1,019
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 34,297
-77 bearers (-0.2%)
Per 100,000 11.63
Rank movement Down 89 places
2020
#1,063
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 32,386
-1,911 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 10.84
Rank movement Down 44 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #930 | 34,374 | 12.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,019 | 34,297 | 11.63 | -77 bearers (-0.2%) | Down 89 places |
| 2020 | #1,063 | 32,386 | 10.84 | -1,911 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 44 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 Irwin 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 | #1,019 | #1,063 | -4.3% |
| Count | 34,297 | 32,386 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 11.63 | 10.84 | -6.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Irwin bearers went from 34,297 to 32,386 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 44 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,019 to #1,063.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Irwin
FAQ
Irwin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Irwin?
Name Census estimates that about 37,138 living Americans carry the surname Irwin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 9,229 residents.
How common is Irwin?
Irwin ranks #1,063 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 10.84 per 100,000 residents, which is about 11 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 32,386 people with the surname Irwin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (37,138), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 10.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 10.84 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 11 of them to have the surname Irwin.
Has Irwin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Irwin went from 34,297 recorded bearers to 32,386. That is a decrease of 1,911 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,019 to #1,063.
What does the Census say about the background of Irwin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Irwin, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (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 Irwin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.4% (28,961 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Irwin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.4%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (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 Irwin (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 Irwin mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "boar friend" in Old English, likely referring to a hunter or one who kept boars. 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 Irwin (10.84 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 Irwin?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Irwin? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.