2000
#15,627
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,717
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.64
Rare Last name
Laidlaw
Scottish surname derived from a place name meaning "area of cleared land".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,166 Americans carry the last name Laidlaw. That puts it at #15,014 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 158,243 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Laidlaw 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 Laidlaw with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 158,243
Census rank
#15,014
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,889 bearers of the surname Laidlaw in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15014th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Laidlaw, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.2%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laidlaw
Among Census respondents with the surname Laidlaw, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.2%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Laidlaw 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 Laidlaw surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.2% · 1,571
- Black or African American8.0% · 151
- Two or more races4.1% · 78
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 21
Timeline
Historical Census data for Laidlaw
Laidlaw 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
#15,700
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,858
+141 bearers (+8.2%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Down 73 places
2020
#15,014
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,889
+31 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Up 686 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,627 | 1,717 | 0.64 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,700 | 1,858 | 0.63 | +141 bearers (+8.2%) | Down 73 places |
| 2020 | #15,014 | 1,889 | 0.63 | +31 bearers (+1.7%) | Up 686 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 Laidlaw 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 | #15,700 | #15,014 | 4.4% |
| Count | 1,858 | 1,889 | 1.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.63 | 0.63 | 0.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Laidlaw bearers went from 1,858 to 1,889 (+1.7% change). The surname moved up 686 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,700 to #15,014.
FAQ
Laidlaw surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Laidlaw?
Name Census estimates that about 2,166 living Americans carry the surname Laidlaw. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 158,243 residents.
How common is Laidlaw?
Laidlaw ranks #15,014 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.63 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 1,889 people with the surname Laidlaw. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,166), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.63 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 Laidlaw.
Has Laidlaw become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Laidlaw went from 1,858 recorded bearers to 1,889. That is an increase of 31 (+1.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,700 to #15,014.
What does the Census say about the background of Laidlaw?
Among Census respondents with the surname Laidlaw, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.2%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Laidlaw in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.2% (1,571 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Laidlaw appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.2%), Black (8.0%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Laidlaw (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 Laidlaw mean?
Scottish surname derived from a place name meaning "area of cleared land". 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 Laidlaw (0.63 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 Americans have the surname Laidlaw?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.