Loudon last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Loudon is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Loudon.

Meaning of Loudon

An English surname derived from a place name meaning "loud hill" or "noisy hill".

Loudon, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Loudon surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Loudon in America

Loudon is the 16933rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Loudon surname appeared 1,680 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Loudon.

We can also compare 2010 data for Loudon to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 16933 17014 -0.48%
Count 1,680 1,539 8.76%
Proportion per 100k 0.57 0.57 0.00%

The history of the last name Loudon

The surname Loudon is of Scottish origin, derived from the lands of Loudoun in Ayrshire, Scotland. The name is believed to have emerged in the 12th century, with the earliest recorded spelling being "Laudon" in 1189.

The name is thought to be derived from the Gaelic words "loth" meaning "half" and "dun" meaning "hill" or "fort." This suggests that the name may have referred to a particular geographical feature or settlement located on a half-hill or fortified area.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of homage rolls from Scottish nobles and landowners swearing fealty to King Edward I of England. The name appears as "Lauedun" in this document.

In the 15th century, the Loudoun family gained prominence in Scotland. Sir Reginald Loudon (c. 1405-1465) was a Scottish nobleman and the first Lord Loudon. He was granted the lands of Loudoun by King James II of Scotland in 1438.

Sir Hugh Loudon (c. 1460-1524) was a Scottish diplomat and the second Lord Loudon. He served as the Lord High Chancellor of Scotland and was involved in negotiating the Treaty of Rouen in 1517.

During the Scottish Reformation in the 16th century, John Loudon (c. 1520-1595) was a prominent Protestant reformer and supporter of John Knox. He played a role in the establishment of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland.

In the 17teenth century, John Loudon (1605-1663) was a Scottish mathematician and scientist. He made significant contributions to the field of optics and is known for his work on the theory of vision and the construction of microscopes.

James Loudon (1783-1856) was a Scottish horticulturist and botanist. He is best known for his work on the cultivation of fruit trees and his publications on gardening and landscape design.

Throughout its history, the surname Loudon has been associated with various noble families, scholars, and individuals who have made significant contributions in various fields, particularly in Scotland.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Loudon

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Loudon.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Loudon was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 95.42% 1,603
Non-Hispanic Black Only 1.25% 21
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.31% 22
Hispanic Origin 1.31% 22

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Loudon has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 95.42% 95.52% -0.10%
Black 1.25% 1.36% -8.43%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.31% 1.17% 11.29%
Hispanic 1.31% 1.17% 11.29%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Loudon was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Loudon, please contact us.

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"Loudon last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 31, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/loudon-surname-popularity/.

"Loudon last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/loudon-surname-popularity/. Accessed 31 October, 2024

Loudon last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/loudon-surname-popularity/.

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