2000
#3,566
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,144
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.39
Uncommon Last name
Lumpkin
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "little lookout place" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,235 Americans carry the last name Lumpkin. That puts it at #3,870 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.99 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 33,488 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lumpkin 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
10K
1 in 33,488
Census rank
#3,870
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.9K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,925 bearers of the surname Lumpkin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.99 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3870th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lumpkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.8%. The next largest groups are Black (42.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lumpkin
The surname Lumpkin is believed to have originated in England, likely in the 13th or 14th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "lump" and "kin," which together would have referred to a person who made or sold lumps or balls of dough, such as for bread or pastries. In this way, Lumpkin was likely an occupational surname, similar to other English surnames like Baker or Miller.
The name is first recorded in historical records in the late 15th century, with one of the earliest known instances being a John Lumpkin mentioned in the Lancashire Court Rolls of 1487. Other early spellings of the name included Lompkyn, Lumpkyn, and Lumpkeyn, reflecting the variations in spelling that were common in medieval times before standardization.
In the 16th century, the name appears in various parish records and tax rolls across different parts of England, particularly in the counties of Lancashire, Cheshire, and Yorkshire. This suggests that the Lumpkin surname had spread to different regions by this time.
One notable early bearer of the name was Thomas Lumpkin, a merchant and member of the Worshipful Company of Grocers in London, who was born around 1560 and died in 1630. Another was Captain John Lumpkin, an English naval officer who served in the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century.
In the 18th century, the Lumpkin name can be found in various historical documents, including the records of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in America, indicating that some Lumpkins had emigrated from England to the New World by this time.
Other notable people with the Lumpkin surname include Wilson Lumpkin (1783-1870), a politician who served as the governor of Georgia in the 1830s, and Grace Lumpkin (1892-1980), an American writer and activist known for her novels and social commentary.
The Lumpkin surname has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Lumpkin Hill in Lancashire and Lumpkin's Well in Yorkshire, further reflecting the historical roots and geographic spread of this surname over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lumpkin
Among Census respondents with the surname Lumpkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.8%. The next largest groups are Black (42.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Lumpkin 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 Lumpkin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.8% · 4,359
- Black or African American42.9% · 3,828
- Two or more races4.6% · 415
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 253
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 35
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lumpkin
Lumpkin 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
#3,805
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,307
+163 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 3.16
Rank movement Down 239 places
2020
#3,870
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,925
-382 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 2.99
Rank movement Down 65 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,566 | 9,144 | 3.39 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,805 | 9,307 | 3.16 | +163 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 239 places |
| 2020 | #3,870 | 8,925 | 2.99 | -382 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 65 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 Lumpkin 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 | #3,805 | #3,870 | -1.7% |
| Count | 9,307 | 8,925 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 3.16 | 2.99 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lumpkin bearers went from 9,307 to 8,925 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 65 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,805 to #3,870.
FAQ
Lumpkin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lumpkin?
Name Census estimates that about 10,235 living Americans carry the surname Lumpkin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 33,488 residents.
How common is Lumpkin?
Lumpkin ranks #3,870 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.99 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,925 people with the surname Lumpkin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,235), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.99 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.99 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Lumpkin.
Has Lumpkin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lumpkin went from 9,307 recorded bearers to 8,925. That is a decrease of 382 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,805 to #3,870.
What does the Census say about the background of Lumpkin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lumpkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.8%. The next largest groups are Black (42.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Lumpkin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.8% (4,359 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lumpkin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (48.8%), Black (42.9%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Lumpkin (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 Lumpkin mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "little lookout place" in Old English. 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 Lumpkin (2.99 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 Americans have the surname Lumpkin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.