2000
#8,872
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,394
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.26
Rare Last name
Liberty
A surname derived from a place name or referring to one who lived near a liberty or free area.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,442 Americans carry the last name Liberty. That puts it at #10,217 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 99,580 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Liberty 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 Liberty with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.4K
1 in 99,580
Census rank
#10,217
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,002 bearers of the surname Liberty in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10217th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Liberty, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Black (4.8%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Liberty
The surname LIBERTY has its origins in the late 15th century England. It is believed to be derived from the Old French word 'liberte', which means freedom or liberty. This name may have been given to someone who lived in an area with certain freedoms or liberties, or someone who was known for their love of freedom.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the LIBERTY surname dates back to 1487 in the Nottinghamshire county records. A John Liberty is mentioned as a landowner in the village of Mansfield. It is likely that this John Liberty was the first person to adopt the surname, potentially after being granted certain liberties or freedoms by the local lord.
In the 16th century, the LIBERTY surname began to spread across England, with various spelling variations such as Libertie and Liberte appearing in records. One notable example is William Libertie, a merchant from London who is recorded in the Port Books of 1567 as exporting goods to the Netherlands.
The LIBERTY surname also has a connection to the Domesday Book, the great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. While the surname itself is not mentioned, there are references to places with names derived from the word 'liberty', such as Libertyville in Hertfordshire.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the LIBERTY surname. One of the earliest was Thomas Liberty (c. 1540-1610), an English writer and poet who published works on religious and moral subjects. Another prominent figure was John Liberty (1619-1675), a Puritan minister and one of the founders of the town of Providence, Rhode Island.
In the 18th century, Robert Liberty (1733-1794) was a British naval officer who served in the American Revolutionary War. He later became a Member of Parliament for the Whig party. Another LIBERTY of note was William Liberty (1768-1843), a British army officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a successful writer and historian.
One of the most famous individuals with the LIBERTY surname was Marie Liberty (1858-1937), a French feminist and activist who played a significant role in the women's suffrage movement. She was a vocal advocate for women's rights and worked tirelessly to secure the right to vote for French women.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Liberty
Among Census respondents with the surname Liberty, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Black (4.8%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Liberty 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 Liberty surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.3% · 2,560
- Black or African American4.8% · 145
- Two or more races4.4% · 133
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 84
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 33
Timeline
Historical Census data for Liberty
Liberty 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
#9,184
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,552
+158 bearers (+4.7%)
Per 100,000 1.20
Rank movement Down 312 places
2020
#10,217
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,002
-550 bearers (-15.5%)
Per 100,000 1.00
Rank movement Down 1,033 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,872 | 3,394 | 1.26 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,184 | 3,552 | 1.20 | +158 bearers (+4.7%) | Down 312 places |
| 2020 | #10,217 | 3,002 | 1.00 | -550 bearers (-15.5%) | Down 1,033 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 Liberty 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 | #9,184 | #10,217 | -11.2% |
| Count | 3,552 | 3,002 | -15.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.20 | 1.00 | -16.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Liberty bearers went from 3,552 to 3,002 (-15.5% change). The surname moved down 1,033 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,184 to #10,217.
FAQ
Liberty surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Liberty?
Name Census estimates that about 3,442 living Americans carry the surname Liberty. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 99,580 residents.
How common is Liberty?
Liberty ranks #10,217 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.00 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 3,002 people with the surname Liberty. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,442), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.00 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 Liberty.
Has Liberty become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Liberty went from 3,552 recorded bearers to 3,002. That is a decrease of 550 (-15.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,184 to #10,217.
What does the Census say about the background of Liberty?
Among Census respondents with the surname Liberty, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Black (4.8%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Liberty in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.3% (2,560 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Liberty appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.3%), Black (4.8%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Liberty (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 Liberty mean?
A surname derived from a place name or referring to one who lived near a liberty or free area. 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 Liberty (1.00 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 Liberty?
Want to know how many people have the last name Liberty? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.