Lathrop last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Lathrop

Derived from a place name meaning "barn" or "granary" in Old English, likely referring to someone who lived nearby.

Lathrop, 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 Lathrop surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lathrop in America

Lathrop is the 4408th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lathrop surname appeared 8,057 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Lathrop.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lathrop 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 4408 4130 6.51%
Count 8,057 7,936 1.51%
Proportion per 100k 2.73 2.94 -7.41%

The history of the last name Lathrop

The surname Lathrop originates from England and dates back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "laethu" meaning barn or grange, and "throp" meaning a small village or hamlet. The name was likely used to identify individuals who lived near or worked at a particular barn or grange.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Lathrop name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is spelled "Latheburg." This reference suggests that the name was already in use by the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066.

In the 13th century, the name appeared in various forms such as "Lathrope," "Lathroppe," and "Lathropp" in various records and documents from counties like Essex, Suffolk, and Lincolnshire.

One of the earliest known individuals with the Lathrop surname was John Lathrop (c. 1584-1653), an English Puritan minister who fled to America in 1634 to escape religious persecution. He settled in Massachusetts and is considered one of the founders of the town of Barnstable.

Another notable Lathrop was Benjamin Lathrop (1774-1820), an American businessman and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts from 1819 until his death.

In the 18th century, the surname was also associated with the Lathrop family of Massachusetts, which included several prominent individuals. One of them was John Lathrop (1739-1816), a Revolutionary War veteran and early settler of the town of Genesee, New York.

Reverend John Higginson Lathrop (1799-1866) was a Unitarian minister and author from Boston, Massachusetts, who published several works on religious topics and moral philosophy.

Another notable bearer of the Lathrop name was Francis Lathrop (1849-1909), an American architect who designed several notable buildings in New York City, including the Church of the Incarnation and the Metropolitan Opera House.

While the surname Lathrop has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through immigration to the United States and other English-speaking countries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lathrop

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

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 Lathrop was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 92.23% 7,431
Non-Hispanic Black Only 1.71% 138
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 1.01% 81
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.55% 44
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.76% 142
Hispanic Origin 2.74% 221

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 Lathrop has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 92.23% 93.40% -1.26%
Black 1.71% 1.78% -4.01%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.01% 0.78% 25.70%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.55% 0.63% -13.56%
Two or More Races 1.76% 1.54% 13.33%
Hispanic 2.74% 1.88% 37.23%

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Lathrop last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 31, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/lathrop-surname-popularity/.

"Lathrop last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/lathrop-surname-popularity/. Accessed 31 October, 2024

Lathrop last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/lathrop-surname-popularity/.

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.