2000
#117,538
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 137
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Loughborough
A locational surname referring to someone from Loughborough, a town in Leicestershire, England.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Loughborough. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Loughborough 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Loughborough in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Loughborough, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.4%) and Two or More Races (5.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Loughborough
The surname Loughborough originates from England and dates back to the medieval period. It is a locational name derived from the town of Loughborough in Leicestershire, which itself comes from the Old English words "lough" meaning a lake or pool, and "burgh" meaning a fortified town or manor.
Loughborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Lokeburne," indicating the name's early development. The earliest recorded instance of the surname Loughborough appears in the Pipe Rolls of Leicestershire in 1196, when a William de Loughborough is listed.
One notable bearer of the name was Sir Edmund Loughborough (c.1520-1588), an English courtier and landowner who served as a member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He was granted lands in Leicestershire and held the manor of Loughborough.
Another prominent figure was Sir Henry Loughborough (1638-1700), a lawyer and judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas from 1686 to 1688. He was also a member of Parliament for several constituencies.
In the 18th century, Robert Loughborough (1737-1805) was a British Army officer who served in the American Revolutionary War. He became a Lieutenant-General and was appointed Governor of the British colonies of St. Vincent and Tobago.
John Loughborough (1779-1842) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a Democratic-Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania from 1815 to 1823.
Another notable bearer was Henry Loughborough (1811-1872), an English architect who designed several churches and public buildings in Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, including the Church of St. James in Loughborough.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Loughborough
Among Census respondents with the surname Loughborough, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.4%) and Two or More Races (5.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Loughborough 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 Loughborough surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.2% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino7.4% · 8
- Two or more races5.6% · 6
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Loughborough
Loughborough 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-16 bearers (-11.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 20,766 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-13 bearers (-10.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,631 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #117,538 | 137 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | -16 bearers (-11.7%) | Down 20,766 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-10.7%) | Down 12,631 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 Loughborough 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 | #138,304 | #150,935 | -9.1% |
| Count | 121 | 108 | -10.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Loughborough bearers went from 121 to 108 (-10.7% change). The surname moved down 12,631 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #150,935.
FAQ
Loughborough surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Loughborough?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Loughborough. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Loughborough?
Loughborough ranks #150,935 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 108 people with the surname Loughborough. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Loughborough.
Has Loughborough become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Loughborough went from 121 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 13 (-10.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Loughborough?
Among Census respondents with the surname Loughborough, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.4%) and Two or More Races (5.6%). 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 Loughborough in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.2% (92 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Loughborough appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.2%), Hispanic (7.4%), Two or More Races (5.6%). 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 Loughborough (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 Loughborough mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from Loughborough, a town in Leicestershire, 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 Loughborough (0.04 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 Loughborough?
You can see how many people are called Loughborough on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.