2000
#2,096
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,898
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.89
Uncommon Last name
Ladd
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a watercourse, stream, or ditch.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,781 Americans carry the last name Ladd. That puts it at #2,290 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.19 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,276 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ladd 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 Ladd with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
18K
1 in 19,276
Census rank
#2,290
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,506 bearers of the surname Ladd in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.19 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2290th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ladd, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Black (6.5%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ladd
Among Census respondents with the surname Ladd, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Black (6.5%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Ladd 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 Ladd surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.3% · 13,072
- Black or African American6.5% · 1,012
- Two or more races4.3% · 666
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 513
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 125
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 118
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ladd
Ladd 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
#2,256
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,112
+214 bearers (+1.3%)
Per 100,000 5.46
Rank movement Down 160 places
2020
#2,290
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,506
-606 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 5.19
Rank movement Down 34 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,096 | 15,898 | 5.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,256 | 16,112 | 5.46 | +214 bearers (+1.3%) | Down 160 places |
| 2020 | #2,290 | 15,506 | 5.19 | -606 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 34 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 Ladd 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 | #2,256 | #2,290 | -1.5% |
| Count | 16,112 | 15,506 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 5.46 | 5.19 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ladd bearers went from 16,112 to 15,506 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 34 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,256 to #2,290.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Ladd
FAQ
Ladd surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ladd?
Name Census estimates that about 17,781 living Americans carry the surname Ladd. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,276 residents.
How common is Ladd?
Ladd ranks #2,290 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.19 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,506 people with the surname Ladd. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,781), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.19 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.19 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Ladd.
Has Ladd become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ladd went from 16,112 recorded bearers to 15,506. That is a decrease of 606 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,256 to #2,290.
What does the Census say about the background of Ladd?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ladd, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Black (6.5%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Ladd in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.3% (13,072 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ladd appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.3%), Black (6.5%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Ladd (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 Ladd mean?
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a watercourse, stream, or ditch. 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 Ladd (5.19 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 common is the surname Ladd?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Ladd on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.