2000
#4,032
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,090
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.00
Rare Last name
Manson
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Magnus, meaning "great" or "mighty" in Latin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,972 Americans carry the last name Manson. That puts it at #4,921 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.33 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 42,995 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Manson 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 Manson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.0K
1 in 42,995
Census rank
#4,921
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,952 bearers of the surname Manson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.33 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4921st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Manson, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.4%. The next largest groups are Black (25.5%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Manson
The surname Manson is of British origin, originating from the northern regions of England and Scotland. It likely emerged during the medieval period, around the 12th to 15th centuries. The name is believed to be derived from the Old English words "mann" meaning "man" and "tun" meaning "enclosure" or "homestead." This suggests that the name originally referred to someone who lived in a specific settlement or enclosed area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Manson can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from the late 12th century, where it appears as "Mannesun." This spelling variation highlights the evolution of the name over time. Additionally, the Manson surname is mentioned in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a historical record of Scottish landowners and nobles who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England.
In the 14th century, there are records of a John Manson who was a landowner in Northumberland, England. Another notable figure was Sir Walter Manson, a Scottish knight who fought alongside Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century.
Moving into the 16th century, the Manson surname appears in various historical documents, such as the Subsidy Rolls of Westmorland in 1524, where a Richard Manson is listed. During this time, the name was also associated with certain place names, such as Manson in Cumbria, England, and Mansontown in Ayrshire, Scotland.
In the 17th century, one notable individual was William Manson, a Scottish merchant and burgess of Edinburgh, who lived from 1620 to 1683. Another was John Manson, an English clergyman and author, born in 1659, who wrote several works on theology and philosophy.
In the 18th century, James Manson, a Scottish architect and civil engineer, was responsible for designing and constructing several notable buildings in Edinburgh, including the Old College of the University of Edinburgh, where he worked from 1789 to 1826.
As the centuries progressed, the Manson surname continued to be associated with various individuals across different fields. For example, in the 19th century, there was Patrick Manson, a Scottish physician and pioneer in the field of tropical medicine, who lived from 1844 to 1922. He is credited with discovering the transmission of elephantiasis and other parasitic diseases by mosquitoes.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Manson
Among Census respondents with the surname Manson, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.4%. The next largest groups are Black (25.5%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Manson 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 Manson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.4% · 4,406
- Black or African American25.5% · 1,775
- Two or more races4.4% · 304
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 274
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 140
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 53
Timeline
Historical Census data for Manson
Manson 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
#4,629
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,663
-427 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 2.60
Rank movement Down 597 places
2020
#4,921
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,952
-711 bearers (-9.3%)
Per 100,000 2.33
Rank movement Down 292 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,032 | 8,090 | 3.00 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,629 | 7,663 | 2.60 | -427 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 597 places |
| 2020 | #4,921 | 6,952 | 2.33 | -711 bearers (-9.3%) | Down 292 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 Manson 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 | #4,629 | #4,921 | -6.3% |
| Count | 7,663 | 6,952 | -9.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.60 | 2.33 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Manson bearers went from 7,663 to 6,952 (-9.3% change). The surname moved down 292 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,629 to #4,921.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Manson
FAQ
Manson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Manson?
Name Census estimates that about 7,972 living Americans carry the surname Manson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 42,995 residents.
How common is Manson?
Manson ranks #4,921 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.33 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 6,952 people with the surname Manson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,972), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.33 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.33 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 Manson.
Has Manson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Manson went from 7,663 recorded bearers to 6,952. That is a decrease of 711 (-9.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,629 to #4,921.
What does the Census say about the background of Manson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Manson, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.4%. The next largest groups are Black (25.5%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Manson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.4% (4,406 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Manson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (63.4%), Black (25.5%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Manson (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 Manson mean?
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Magnus, meaning "great" or "mighty" in Latin. 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 Manson (2.33 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 share the surname Manson?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.