Find out how popular the last name Ladd is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Ladd.

Ladd, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Ladd surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ladd in America

Ladd is the 2256th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ladd surname appeared 16,112 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Ladd.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ladd to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Ladd

The surname Ladd is of English origin and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word "lad," which means a path or a way. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a path or road.

The earliest recorded instance of the name Ladd can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1166, where a person named Robert Lad is mentioned. The surname was also found in various other medieval records, such as the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where it appears as "Ladde."

In some cases, the name Ladd may have also been a variant spelling of the surname Laidlaw, which is of Scottish origin and derived from the Old English words "lad" and "hlaw," meaning a path and a hill, respectively. This surname likely referred to someone who lived near a path on a hill.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Ladd was John Ladd, who was born around 1480 in Wingham, Kent, England. He was a prominent merchant and landowner during the reign of King Henry VIII.

Another historical figure was William Ladd (1778-1841), an American philanthropist and peace activist from New Hampshire. He was a pioneer in the anti-slavery and peace movements and founded the American Peace Society in 1828.

In the 17th century, several Ladd families emigrated from England to the American colonies, settling in various regions, including Massachusetts and Virginia. One of these early settlers was Daniel Ladd (1618-1693), who arrived in Massachusetts in 1638 and later became a prominent landowner and member of the General Court.

Other notable individuals with the surname Ladd include Christine Ladd-Franklin (1847-1930), an American philosopher and logician who made significant contributions to the study of color vision and logic, and George Trumbull Ladd (1842-1921), an American philosopher and psychologist who served as the president of Yale University from 1888 to 1898.

The name Ladd has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Laddingford in Kent and Ladd's Garden in Surrey, which may have derived their names from individuals with the surname Ladd who lived in or owned those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ladd

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Ladd.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Ladd was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Ladd has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Ladd was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Ladd, please contact us.

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