2000
#16,302
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,627
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.60
Rare Last name
Lattin
A surname derived from the Old French place name Latten, meaning a metal-worker or founder.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,933 Americans carry the last name Lattin. That puts it at #16,531 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.56 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 177,317 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lattin 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
1.9K
1 in 177,317
Census rank
#16,531
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,686 bearers of the surname Lattin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.56 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 16531st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lattin, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Black (10.9%) and Hispanic (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lattin
The surname Lattin is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "lath" meaning a barn or a storehouse, and "tun" meaning a town or settlement. It likely originated in the 8th or 9th century as a locational name, referring to someone who lived near a barn or storehouse in a particular town or village.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Latton" and "Latune". This suggests that the name was already well-established in various parts of England by the time of the Norman Conquest.
During the medieval period, the name was commonly found in areas such as Wiltshire, Somerset, and Gloucestershire, where it was often associated with specific place names like Latton, Latton Lands, and Latton Marsh. These place names likely derived from the same Old English roots as the surname itself.
In the 13th century, a notable bearer of the name was John de Latton, a prominent landowner and benefactor who lived in Wiltshire. Another early record is of a William de Latton, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1194.
Over the centuries, various spelling variations of the name emerged, including Laton, Latton, and Latten. One of the earliest examples of the "Lattin" spelling can be found in the records of the Visitation of Gloucestershire in 1623, where a family of that name is listed.
Notable bearers of the Lattin surname include:
1. Richard Lattin (c.1525-1599), an English clergyman and author who was Archdeacon of Middlesex and a prominent Protestant reformer during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
2. William Lattin (1609-1671), an English Puritan minister and author who emigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony and served as a pastor in several towns.
3. John Lattin (1782-1858), an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. Representative from New York.
4. Samuel Lattin (1803-1885), an American businessman and politician who served as Mayor of Buffalo, New York, in the 1860s.
5. Joseph Lattin (1835-1917), an American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the Lattin & Rand Powder Company in New York and made significant donations to educational institutions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lattin
Among Census respondents with the surname Lattin, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Black (10.9%) and Hispanic (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Lattin 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 Lattin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.9% · 1,347
- Black or African American10.9% · 184
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 84
- Two or more races3.7% · 62
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lattin
Lattin 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
#15,600
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,874
+247 bearers (+15.2%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Up 702 places
2020
#16,531
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,686
-188 bearers (-10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.56
Rank movement Down 931 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,302 | 1,627 | 0.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,600 | 1,874 | 0.64 | +247 bearers (+15.2%) | Up 702 places |
| 2020 | #16,531 | 1,686 | 0.56 | -188 bearers (-10.0%) | Down 931 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 Lattin 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 | #15,600 | #16,531 | -6.0% |
| Count | 1,874 | 1,686 | -10.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.64 | 0.56 | -11.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lattin bearers went from 1,874 to 1,686 (-10.0% change). The surname moved down 931 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,600 to #16,531.
FAQ
Lattin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lattin?
Name Census estimates that about 1,933 living Americans carry the surname Lattin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 177,317 residents.
How common is Lattin?
Lattin ranks #16,531 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.56 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 1,686 people with the surname Lattin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,933), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.56 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.56 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 Lattin.
Has Lattin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lattin went from 1,874 recorded bearers to 1,686. That is a decrease of 188 (-10.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #15,600 to #16,531.
What does the Census say about the background of Lattin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lattin, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Black (10.9%) and Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Lattin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.9% (1,347 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lattin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.9%), Black (10.9%), Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Lattin (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 Lattin mean?
A surname derived from the Old French place name Latten, meaning a metal-worker or founder. 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 Lattin (0.56 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 share the surname Lattin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.