2000
#4,130
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,936
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.94
Rare Last name
Lathrop
Derived from a place name meaning "barn" or "granary" in Old English, likely referring to someone who lived nearby.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,605 Americans carry the last name Lathrop. That puts it at #4,576 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.51 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 39,832 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lathrop 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.
Bearers in the US
8.6K
1 in 39,832
Census rank
#4,576
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,504 bearers of the surname Lathrop in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.51 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4576th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lathrop, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lathrop
Among Census respondents with the surname Lathrop, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Lathrop 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 Lathrop surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.3% · 6,701
- Two or more races3.7% · 274
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 261
- Black or African American1.9% · 146
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 85
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 37
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lathrop
Lathrop 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
#4,408
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,057
+121 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 2.73
Rank movement Down 278 places
2020
#4,576
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,504
-553 bearers (-6.9%)
Per 100,000 2.51
Rank movement Down 168 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,130 | 7,936 | 2.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,408 | 8,057 | 2.73 | +121 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 278 places |
| 2020 | #4,576 | 7,504 | 2.51 | -553 bearers (-6.9%) | Down 168 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 Lathrop 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 | #4,408 | #4,576 | -3.8% |
| Count | 8,057 | 7,504 | -6.9% |
| Per 100K | 2.73 | 2.51 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lathrop bearers went from 8,057 to 7,504 (-6.9% change). The surname moved down 168 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,408 to #4,576.
FAQ
Lathrop surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lathrop?
Name Census estimates that about 8,605 living Americans carry the surname Lathrop. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 39,832 residents.
How common is Lathrop?
Lathrop ranks #4,576 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.51 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,504 people with the surname Lathrop. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,605), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.51 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.51 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Lathrop.
Has Lathrop become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lathrop went from 8,057 recorded bearers to 7,504. That is a decrease of 553 (-6.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,408 to #4,576.
What does the Census say about the background of Lathrop?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lathrop, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Lathrop in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.3% (6,701 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lathrop appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.3%), Two or More Races (3.7%), Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Lathrop (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 Lathrop mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "barn" or "granary" in Old English, likely referring to someone who lived nearby. 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 Lathrop (2.51 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 people have the surname Lathrop?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.