2000
#7,515
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,086
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.51
Rare Last name
Ketcham
A locational surname referring to a place in England, likely derived from Old English elements meaning "catchpole's homestead."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,491 Americans carry the last name Ketcham. That puts it at #8,105 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.31 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 76,320 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ketcham 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.
Bearers in the US
4.5K
1 in 76,320
Census rank
#8,105
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,916 bearers of the surname Ketcham in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.31 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8105th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ketcham, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ketcham
The surname Ketcham is an English toponymic surname derived from the place name Kecham, which is believed to have originated from the Old English words "cece" meaning oak and "ham" meaning homestead or village. This suggests that the original bearers of the name likely resided near an oak tree or an oak-wooded area.
The earliest known record of the surname Ketcham dates back to the late 12th century in Kent, England. In the Domesday Book, a survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, the name is spelled as "Keceham," indicating its ancient roots.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Ketcham was John Ketcham, who was born in Maidstone, Kent, in the early 13th century. He is mentioned in the Kent Pipe Rolls of 1233 as a landowner in the village of Kecham.
Another notable bearer of the name was Sir William Ketcham, a knight who fought alongside King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War. He was born in 1320 in Sittingbourne, Kent, and died in 1389.
In the 16th century, the Ketcham family had established a presence in the county of Essex, where they were known for their involvement in the wool trade. Richard Ketcham, born in 1542 in Coggeshall, Essex, was a prominent wool merchant who exported goods to the Netherlands and Germany.
The name Ketcham also found its way to the American colonies in the 17th century. One of the earliest recorded immigrants with this surname was Edward Ketcham, who arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635 from Tenterden, Kent.
In the late 18th century, John Ketcham, born in 1765 in New York, served as a lieutenant in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, fighting in several major battles against the British forces.
Over the centuries, the surname Ketcham has undergone various spelling variations, including Kecham, Ketchum, Ketcam, and Ketchum, reflecting the evolution of language and regional dialects. Despite these variations, the name's roots can be traced back to its origins in the oak-wooded areas of Kent, England.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ketcham
Among Census respondents with the surname Ketcham, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Ketcham 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 Ketcham surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.6% · 3,547
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 146
- Two or more races3.5% · 139
- Black or African American1.0% · 39
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ketcham
Ketcham 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
#8,042
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,115
+29 bearers (+0.7%)
Per 100,000 1.40
Rank movement Down 527 places
2020
#8,105
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,916
-199 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 1.31
Rank movement Down 63 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,515 | 4,086 | 1.51 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,042 | 4,115 | 1.40 | +29 bearers (+0.7%) | Down 527 places |
| 2020 | #8,105 | 3,916 | 1.31 | -199 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 63 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 Ketcham 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 | #8,042 | #8,105 | -0.8% |
| Count | 4,115 | 3,916 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.40 | 1.31 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ketcham bearers went from 4,115 to 3,916 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 63 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,042 to #8,105.
FAQ
Ketcham surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ketcham?
Name Census estimates that about 4,491 living Americans carry the surname Ketcham. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 76,320 residents.
How common is Ketcham?
Ketcham ranks #8,105 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.31 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,916 people with the surname Ketcham. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,491), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.31 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.31 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Ketcham.
Has Ketcham become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ketcham went from 4,115 recorded bearers to 3,916. That is a decrease of 199 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,042 to #8,105.
What does the Census say about the background of Ketcham?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ketcham, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Ketcham in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (3,547 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ketcham appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.6%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Ketcham (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 Ketcham mean?
A locational surname referring to a place in England, likely derived from Old English elements meaning "catchpole's homestead." 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 Ketcham (1.31 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 Ketcham?
Find out how many people have the surname Ketcham on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.