2010
#160,975
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Isard
A locational surname derived from areas known for iron ore deposits or iron production.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Isard. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Isard 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 Isard with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Isard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Isard, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.4%) and Black (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Isard
The surname Isard is believed to have originated in England during the late medieval period. It is thought to be a variant of the name Izard, which derived from the Old French word "izard" meaning a type of mountain goat found in the Pyrenees mountains.
Some historians suggest the name may have first arrived in England with Norman settlers following the conquest in 1066. However, the earliest recorded examples of the Isard spelling date back to the 13th century in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire records.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Isard, a merchant and landowner who lived in Westmorland, England in the late 1200s. Variations of his name appear in tax rolls and land deeds from that era spelled as Ysard, Isarde, and Issard.
By the 1400s, the Isard name had spread across northern England with pockets of families found in places like Cumbria, Lancashire, and Yorkshire. One notable bearer was William Isard of Bolton who served as a sheriff in 1492.
As the centuries passed, some Isard families relocated to other areas. Robert Isard was born in Kendal in 1603 but later moved to London where he worked as a merchant and died in 1679. Around 1700, Thomas Isard emigrated from Cumberland to the American colonies and settled in Virginia.
Other historically significant people with the Isard surname include the artist Walter Isard (1759-1835) who was a member of the Royal Academy, and Chester Isard (1798-1867), a British naval officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and rose to the rank of Admiral.
Throughout its long history, the Isard name has maintained connections to its believed geographic origins in the rugged upland areas of northern England and the ancestral French meaning related to the nimble mountain goat.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Isard
Among Census respondents with the surname Isard, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.4%) and Black (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Isard 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 Isard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.8% · 101
- Two or more races6.4% · 7
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Isard
Isard appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+10 bearers (+10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 11,529 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #160,975 | 100 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+10.0%) | Up 11,529 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 Isard 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 | #160,975 | #149,446 | 7.2% |
| Count | 100 | 110 | 10.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 22.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Isard bearers went from 100 to 110 (+10.0% change). The surname moved up 11,529 positions in the national ranking, going from #160,975 to #149,446.
FAQ
Isard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Isard?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Isard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Isard?
Isard ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 110 people with the surname Isard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Isard.
Has Isard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Isard went from 100 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 10 (+10.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #160,975 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Isard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Isard, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.4%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Isard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.8% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Isard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.8%), Two or More Races (6.4%), Black (0.9%). 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 Isard (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 Isard mean?
A locational surname derived from areas known for iron ore deposits or iron production. 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 Isard (0.04 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 last name Isard?
You can see how many people are called Isard on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.