2000
#4,642
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,987
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.59
Rare Last name
Loving
An English surname derived from the Old English personal name Lufu, meaning "dear" or "beloved."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,798 Americans carry the last name Loving. That puts it at #5,002 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 43,954 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Loving 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 Loving with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.8K
1 in 43,954
Census rank
#5,002
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,800 bearers of the surname Loving in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5002nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Loving, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.8%. The next largest groups are Black (27.7%) and Two or More Races (6.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Loving
The surname Loving is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "lufu" or "luf," meaning "love." This name likely originated in the 12th or 13th century as a descriptive surname, referring to a person with a loving or affectionate nature.
The earliest recorded instances of the Loving surname can be found in various historical records from England, such as the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1195, which mention a William Lufing. The Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273 also reference a John le Lufyng. These early spellings of the name demonstrate the evolution of "Loving" from its Old English roots.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a valuable historical record of landowners in England, there are no direct references to the Loving surname. However, it does include entries for places that may have contributed to the development of the name, such as the village of Luffeham in Norfolk, which could be an early form of the Loving name.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Loving surname was Sir William Loving, a prominent English knight who lived during the 14th century. He was a member of the household of King Edward III and participated in the Battle of Crécy in 1346 during the Hundred Years' War.
Another notable figure with the Loving surname was Thomas Loving, an English merchant and explorer who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was involved in the early English colonization efforts in Virginia and is believed to have established one of the first settlements in the Chesapeake Bay region.
In the 17th century, the Loving family played a significant role in the history of Virginia. Robert Loving, born around 1655, was a wealthy landowner and planter in the colony. His descendants, including John Loving (1737-1805) and Charles Loving (1785-1858), were prominent figures in the region and held various political and military positions.
During the 18th century, the Loving surname also gained recognition in England. John Loving (1721-1798) was an English clergyman and author who served as the Rector of Basingstoke and wrote several theological works.
In the 19th century, one of the most well-known individuals with the Loving surname was Richard Loving (1933-1975), an American civil rights activist. He and his wife, Mildred Loving, were at the center of the landmark Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia, which struck down laws prohibiting interracial marriage in the United States.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Loving
Among Census respondents with the surname Loving, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.8%. The next largest groups are Black (27.7%) and Two or More Races (6.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Loving 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 Loving surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.8% · 4,134
- Black or African American27.7% · 1,885
- Two or more races6.4% · 434
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 250
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 46
Timeline
Historical Census data for Loving
Loving 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
#4,933
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,135
+148 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 2.42
Rank movement Down 291 places
2020
#5,002
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,800
-335 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 2.28
Rank movement Down 69 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,642 | 6,987 | 2.59 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,933 | 7,135 | 2.42 | +148 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 291 places |
| 2020 | #5,002 | 6,800 | 2.28 | -335 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 69 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 Loving 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 | #4,933 | #5,002 | -1.4% |
| Count | 7,135 | 6,800 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.42 | 2.28 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Loving bearers went from 7,135 to 6,800 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 69 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,933 to #5,002.
FAQ
Loving surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Loving?
Name Census estimates that about 7,798 living Americans carry the surname Loving. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 43,954 residents.
How common is Loving?
Loving ranks #5,002 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.28 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,800 people with the surname Loving. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,798), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.28 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Loving.
Has Loving become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Loving went from 7,135 recorded bearers to 6,800. That is a decrease of 335 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,933 to #5,002.
What does the Census say about the background of Loving?
Among Census respondents with the surname Loving, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.8%. The next largest groups are Black (27.7%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). 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 Loving in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.8% (4,134 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Loving appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (60.8%), Black (27.7%), Two or More Races (6.4%). 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 Loving (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 Loving mean?
An English surname derived from the Old English personal name Lufu, meaning "dear" or "beloved." 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 Loving (2.28 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 Loving?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Loving on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.