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

Laidlaw, 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 Laidlaw surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Laidlaw in America

Laidlaw is the 15700th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Laidlaw surname appeared 1,858 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Laidlaw.

We can also compare 2010 data for Laidlaw 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 Laidlaw

The surname Laidlaw originated in the Borders region of Scotland. It is a locational name, derived from the lands of Laidlaw near Jedburgh in Roxburghshire. The name is thought to come from the Old English words "lad" meaning a path and "hlaw" meaning a hill, thus describing a path over a hill.

The earliest recorded spelling of the name is believed to be William de Laidlau, which appears in the Ragman Rolls of 1296. These were the rolls of homage to Edward I of England, and included many Scottish names. This suggests the Laidlaw family held lands in this area as far back as the late 13th century.

In 1535, a John Laidlaw is mentioned in the records of the Burgh Court of Jedburgh. He is recorded as being a burgess, or freeman, of the town. This indicates the family had achieved a level of status and prominence by this time.

William Laidlaw (1780-1845) was a renowned Scottish author and scholar. He worked as an amanuensis for Sir Walter Scott and assisted him with several of his works, including Ivanhoe and The Heart of Midlothian. Laidlaw is also known for his own poetry and writings on Scottish culture and history.

Another famous bearer of the name was Thomas Laidlaw (1829-1904), a Scottish-born civil engineer. He emigrated to Australia in the mid-19th century and oversaw the construction of several major railway lines, including the Victorian Railways system.

In the United States, James Laidlaw (1795-1859) was an early settler in Illinois. He emigrated from Scotland in the 1830s and founded the town of Laidlaw, which was later renamed Kankakee. His descendants became prominent landowners and businessmen in the region.

The Laidlaw name can also be found in other parts of the world where Scottish emigrants settled, such as Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa. Notable bearers include Sir Patrick Laidlaw (1831-1916), a Scottish-born businessman and politician who served as Mayor of Cape Town.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Laidlaw

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

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 Laidlaw 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 Laidlaw 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 Laidlaw was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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