2000
#13,609
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,046
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.76
Rare Last name
Menzies
Anglicized form of Gaelic Méigeach, possibly meaning "crafty" or "tricky," or referring to a geographic location associated with the name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,274 Americans carry the last name Menzies. That puts it at #14,472 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 150,728 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Menzies 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 Menzies with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 150,728
Census rank
#14,472
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,983 bearers of the surname Menzies in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14472nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Menzies, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.1%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Hispanic (6.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Menzies
The surname Menzies originates from the Scottish Lowlands, specifically in the area of Clydesdale, near Glasgow. It dates back to the 12th century and is derived from the old Gaelic word "meanach," meaning a person who lived in a fertile or cultivated region.
The name first appeared in written records in the early 13th century, with mentions of the Menzies family holding lands in Perthshire. The earliest recorded spelling was "Meynges" in 1249, referring to Robert de Meynges, a landowner in the parish of Weem.
The Menzies family played a significant role in Scottish history, with several notable members. Sir Robert Menzies (c. 1350 - c. 1420) was a prominent figure during the reign of Robert III and was appointed the Keeper of Lochmaben Castle. Another notable figure was Sir Thomas Menzies (c. 1530 - 1597), who served as the Provost of Aberdeen and played a crucial role in the Scottish Reformation.
In the 16th century, the Menzies clan was involved in several feuds with neighboring clans, particularly the Clan Campbell. This led to the famous Battle of Glenfruin in 1603, where the Menzies and their allies were defeated by the Campbells.
The name Menzies is also associated with several place names in Scotland, such as Menzies Castle in Perthshire, which was the ancestral seat of the Clan Menzies, and the village of Menzies in the same region.
Other notable individuals with the surname Menzies include Sir Robert Menzies (1894 - 1978), who served as the Prime Minister of Australia from 1939 to 1941 and again from 1949 to 1966. William Menzies (1795 - 1850) was a Scottish-born Australian politician and explorer, known for his expedition through the Blue Mountains in 1815.
The Menzies surname has also been found in various spellings over the centuries, including Mengies, Mengzes, and Myngis, reflecting the evolution of language and regional variations in pronunciation.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Menzies
Among Census respondents with the surname Menzies, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.1%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Hispanic (6.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Menzies 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 Menzies surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.1% · 1,390
- Black or African American15.5% · 308
- Hispanic or Latino6.4% · 127
- Two or more races5.0% · 100
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 51
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Menzies
Menzies 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
#14,468
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,064
+18 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Down 859 places
2020
#14,472
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,983
-81 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 4 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,609 | 2,046 | 0.76 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,468 | 2,064 | 0.70 | +18 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 859 places |
| 2020 | #14,472 | 1,983 | 0.66 | -81 bearers (-3.9%) | Down 4 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 Menzies 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 | #14,468 | #14,472 | -0.0% |
| Count | 2,064 | 1,983 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.70 | 0.66 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Menzies bearers went from 2,064 to 1,983 (-3.9% change). The surname moved down 4 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,468 to #14,472.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Menzies
FAQ
Menzies surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Menzies?
Name Census estimates that about 2,274 living Americans carry the surname Menzies. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 150,728 residents.
How common is Menzies?
Menzies ranks #14,472 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,983 people with the surname Menzies. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,274), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Menzies.
Has Menzies become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Menzies went from 2,064 recorded bearers to 1,983. That is a decrease of 81 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,468 to #14,472.
What does the Census say about the background of Menzies?
Among Census respondents with the surname Menzies, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.1%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Hispanic (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 Menzies in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.1% (1,390 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Menzies appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (70.1%), Black (15.5%), Hispanic (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 Menzies (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 Menzies mean?
Anglicized form of Gaelic Méigeach, possibly meaning "crafty" or "tricky," or referring to a geographic location associated with the name. 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 Menzies (0.66 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 Menzies?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Menzies is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.