2000
#6,787
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,578
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.70
Rare Last name
Lattimore
An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "latticed lake" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,585 Americans carry the last name Lattimore. That puts it at #6,666 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 61,371 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lattimore 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 Lattimore with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.6K
1 in 61,371
Census rank
#6,666
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,870 bearers of the surname Lattimore in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6666th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lattimore, the largest self-reported group is Black at 65.3%. The next largest groups are White (24.9%) and Two or More Races (5.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lattimore
The surname Lattimore has its origins in England, with the earliest known records dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from a combination of the Old English words "lad" meaning a way or path, and "mor" meaning a moor or marsh, referring to someone who lived near a moorland path or road.
One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which recorded landowners and their properties. An entry in this record mentions a "William de Lathemor" in Oxfordshire. The surname also appears in various medieval tax records and court rolls from the 14th and 15th centuries, with spellings such as Lathemor, Lathmore, and Lathymor.
The name is thought to have originated in the counties of Oxfordshire and Warwickshire, where there were several places with names containing elements similar to "Lattimore". For instance, the village of Ladbroke in Warwickshire was recorded as "Ladebroc" in the Domesday Book of 1086, meaning "the brook by the path".
In the 16th century, a notable bearer of the surname was John Lattimore (c. 1535 - 1604), an English lawyer and Member of Parliament for Worcestershire. Another early figure was Thomas Lattimore (c. 1575 - 1638), a clergyman who served as the Rector of Sutton Valence in Kent.
During the 17th century, the name can be found in various parish records and historical documents. One example is William Lattimore (1604 - 1671), a merchant and landowner from Oxfordshire who served as a Justice of the Peace.
In the 18th century, the surname gained prominence with the birth of John Lattimore (1743 - 1826), a notable English architect who designed several churches and public buildings in London and the surrounding areas.
In more recent times, a well-known bearer of the name was Ralph Lattimore (1891 - 1963), an American author and journalist who wrote extensively about Asia and served as a foreign correspondent for several newspapers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lattimore
Among Census respondents with the surname Lattimore, the largest self-reported group is Black at 65.3%. The next largest groups are White (24.9%) and Two or More Races (5.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Lattimore 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 Lattimore surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American65.3% · 3,180
- White24.9% · 1,213
- Two or more races5.6% · 272
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 172
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lattimore
Lattimore 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
#6,664
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,068
+490 bearers (+10.7%)
Per 100,000 1.72
Rank movement Up 123 places
2020
#6,666
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,870
-198 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 1.63
Rank movement Down 2 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,787 | 4,578 | 1.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,664 | 5,068 | 1.72 | +490 bearers (+10.7%) | Up 123 places |
| 2020 | #6,666 | 4,870 | 1.63 | -198 bearers (-3.9%) | Down 2 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 Lattimore 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 | #6,664 | #6,666 | -0.0% |
| Count | 5,068 | 4,870 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.72 | 1.63 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lattimore bearers went from 5,068 to 4,870 (-3.9% change). The surname moved down 2 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,664 to #6,666.
FAQ
Lattimore surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lattimore?
Name Census estimates that about 5,585 living Americans carry the surname Lattimore. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 61,371 residents.
How common is Lattimore?
Lattimore ranks #6,666 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.63 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,870 people with the surname Lattimore. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,585), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.63 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Lattimore.
Has Lattimore become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lattimore went from 5,068 recorded bearers to 4,870. That is a decrease of 198 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,664 to #6,666.
What does the Census say about the background of Lattimore?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lattimore, the largest self-reported group is Black at 65.3%. The next largest groups are White (24.9%) and Two or More Races (5.6%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Lattimore in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.3% (3,180 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lattimore appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (65.3%), White (24.9%), Two or More Races (5.6%). 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 Lattimore (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 Lattimore mean?
An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "latticed lake" in Old English. 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 Lattimore (1.63 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 common is the surname Lattimore?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Lattimore, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.