2000
#16,042
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,660
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.62
Rare Last name
Leachman
A locational surname referring to an inhabitant of a place with leached or marshy land.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,727 Americans carry the last name Leachman. That puts it at #18,212 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.50 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 198,468 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Leachman 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 Leachman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.7K
1 in 198,468
Census rank
#18,212
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,506 bearers of the surname Leachman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.50 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 18212th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Leachman, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Black (22.7%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Leachman
The surname Leachman has its origins in England and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English words 'leac' meaning 'leek' and 'mann' meaning 'man', originally referring to a person who cultivated or sold leeks.
The earliest recorded instance of the Leachman surname appears in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, where it is spelled 'Lekemanne'. This version of the name likely evolved from the town of Leacamoor, which means 'leek moor' in Old English.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the Leachman surname can be found in various historical records, such as the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, where it appears as 'Lekeman'. The name is also mentioned in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1428, spelled as 'Lekeman'.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the Leachman surname was John Leachman, a merchant from York who lived in the late 14th century. Another early bearer of the name was William Leachman, a landowner in Staffordshire, born around 1410.
In the 16th century, the Leachman surname can be found in the Parish Registers of Wootton Wawen in Warwickshire, where a Thomas Leachman was recorded in 1558. Around the same time, a Richard Leachman was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls for Staffordshire in 1545.
During the 17th century, the Leachman name appeared in various locations across England, including Yorkshire, Cheshire, and Lancashire. One notable individual from this period was Robert Leachman, a clergyman and author from Lancashire, who lived from 1615 to 1684.
The 18th century saw the Leachman surname spread to other parts of the British Isles, with records showing individuals bearing the name in Scotland and Ireland. One prominent figure with this surname was James Leachman, a Scottish mathematician and philosopher who lived from 1720 to 1789.
As the 19th century dawned, the Leachman surname continued to gain prominence, with individuals such as John Leachman, a successful businessman from Liverpool who lived from 1780 to 1854, and William Leachman, a renowned English painter born in 1820.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leachman
Among Census respondents with the surname Leachman, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Black (22.7%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Leachman 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 Leachman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.6% · 1,079
- Black or African American22.7% · 342
- Two or more races3.2% · 48
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Leachman
Leachman 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
#16,679
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,717
+57 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.58
Rank movement Down 637 places
2020
#18,212
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,506
-211 bearers (-12.3%)
Per 100,000 0.50
Rank movement Down 1,533 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,042 | 1,660 | 0.62 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,679 | 1,717 | 0.58 | +57 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 637 places |
| 2020 | #18,212 | 1,506 | 0.50 | -211 bearers (-12.3%) | Down 1,533 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 Leachman 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 | #16,679 | #18,212 | -9.2% |
| Count | 1,717 | 1,506 | -12.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.58 | 0.50 | -13.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Leachman bearers went from 1,717 to 1,506 (-12.3% change). The surname moved down 1,533 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,679 to #18,212.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Leachman
FAQ
Leachman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Leachman?
Name Census estimates that about 1,727 living Americans carry the surname Leachman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 198,468 residents.
How common is Leachman?
Leachman ranks #18,212 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.50 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 1,506 people with the surname Leachman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,727), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.5 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.50 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 Leachman.
Has Leachman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Leachman went from 1,717 recorded bearers to 1,506. That is a decrease of 211 (-12.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #16,679 to #18,212.
What does the Census say about the background of Leachman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Leachman, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Black (22.7%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Leachman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.6% (1,079 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Leachman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (71.6%), Black (22.7%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Leachman (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 Leachman mean?
A locational surname referring to an inhabitant of a place with leached or marshy land. 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 Leachman (0.50 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 last name Leachman?
If you just want to know how common the surname Leachman is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.