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

Ludlow, 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 Ludlow surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ludlow in America

Ludlow is the 8534th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ludlow surname appeared 3,856 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 Ludlow.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ludlow 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.

The history of the last name Ludlow

The surname Ludlow originated in England. It is derived from the Old English words "lud" meaning loud or famous, and "hlaw" meaning a hill or mound. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a prominent hill.

Ludlow is also the name of a market town in Shropshire, England. The town's name can be traced back to the 11th century, when it was recorded as "Lude-lowe" in the Domesday Book of 1086. It's likely that some early bearers of the surname adopted it from this place name.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the surname is found in the Pipe Rolls of Shropshire in 1198, where a William de Ludlow is mentioned. This indicates that the surname was already in use by the late 12th century.

During the Middle Ages, the Ludlow surname was associated with several notable individuals. Sir Henry Ludlow (c.1355-1398) was a Member of Parliament for Shropshire in the late 14th century. Another prominent figure was Edmund Ludlow (1617-1692), an English republican and regicide who signed the death warrant of King Charles I during the English Civil War.

In the 17th century, Gabriel Ludlow (1663-1723) was a Church of England clergyman and author who wrote several theological works. A century later, John Malcolm Ludlow (1821-1911) was a British social reformer and co-founder of the Working Men's College in London.

Another individual of note was Sir Edmund Ludlow-Hewitt (1825-1917), a British lawyer and judge who served as a Justice of the High Court of Judicature. His surname reflects the combination of Ludlow with the surname Hewitt through marriage.

While the Ludlow name has its origins in England, it has also been carried by individuals in other parts of the world, often through migration and settlement. However, its roots can be traced back to the Old English words and the historic market town that gave rise to this distinctive surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ludlow

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

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 Ludlow was:

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 Ludlow has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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 Ludlow was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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