2000
#24,680
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 948
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.35
Rare Last name
Laughton
Habitational name from a place so named in Yorkshire, England.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,091 Americans carry the last name Laughton. That puts it at #26,940 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.32 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 314,165 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Laughton 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 Laughton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.1K
1 in 314,165
Census rank
#26,940
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
951
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 951 bearers of the surname Laughton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.32 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 26940th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Laughton, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.4%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Laughton
The surname Laughton originated in England during the medieval period, deriving from an Old English place name. The name likely comes from the Old English words "hlaw" meaning hill or mound, and "tun" meaning enclosure or settlement, referring to a settlement on a hill.
The earliest known recording of the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Lohton." This suggests the name was established by the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066. Over time, various spellings emerged, including Loughton, Lowton, and the modern Laughton.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname was Laurence de Laughton, who lived in Yorkshire during the 13th century. Another early bearer was Robert de Loughton, mentioned in records from Lincolnshire in 1273.
The name Laughton is associated with several notable figures throughout history. Sir John Laughton (c.1616-1689) was an English politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1668. John Knox Laughton (1830-1915) was a British naval historian and teacher at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich.
Charles Laughton (1899-1962) was a renowned English stage and film actor known for his roles in movies like "Mutiny on the Bounty" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." He was nominated for several Academy Awards and won the award for Best Actor for his performance in "The Private Life of Henry VIII" in 1933.
Another prominent bearer was Sir John Laughton (1857-1933), a British naval historian and professor at King's College London. He wrote extensively on naval history and was knighted in 1919 for his contributions to the field.
John Laughton (1830-1876) was an English engraver and etcher, known for his landscapes and architectural works. He was elected a member of the Royal Academy in 1869.
The surname Laughton continues to be found predominantly in England, particularly in the counties of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire, where it likely originated from the place names it derived from.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laughton
Among Census respondents with the surname Laughton, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.4%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Laughton 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 Laughton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.5% · 813
- Black or African American5.4% · 51
- Two or more races4.5% · 43
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Laughton
Laughton 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
#24,325
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,031
+83 bearers (+8.8%)
Per 100,000 0.35
Rank movement Up 355 places
2020
#26,940
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 951
-80 bearers (-7.8%)
Per 100,000 0.32
Rank movement Down 2,615 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #24,680 | 948 | 0.35 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #24,325 | 1,031 | 0.35 | +83 bearers (+8.8%) | Up 355 places |
| 2020 | #26,940 | 951 | 0.32 | -80 bearers (-7.8%) | Down 2,615 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 Laughton 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 | #24,325 | #26,940 | -10.8% |
| Count | 1,031 | 951 | -7.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.35 | 0.32 | -9.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Laughton bearers went from 1,031 to 951 (-7.8% change). The surname moved down 2,615 positions in the national ranking, going from #24,325 to #26,940.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Laughton
FAQ
Laughton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Laughton?
Name Census estimates that about 1,091 living Americans carry the surname Laughton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 314,165 residents.
How common is Laughton?
Laughton ranks #26,940 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.32 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 951 people with the surname Laughton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,091), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.32 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.32 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Laughton.
Has Laughton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Laughton went from 1,031 recorded bearers to 951. That is a decrease of 80 (-7.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #24,325 to #26,940.
What does the Census say about the background of Laughton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Laughton, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.4%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Laughton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.5% (813 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Laughton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.5%), Black (5.4%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Laughton (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 Laughton mean?
Habitational name from a place so named in Yorkshire, England. 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 Laughton (0.32 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 Laughton?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.