2000
#1,358
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,937
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.87
Uncommon Last name
Meredith
A Welsh surname derived from the given name Meredydd, meaning "great lord" or "sea lord."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 26,898 Americans carry the last name Meredith. That puts it at #1,481 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 12,743 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Meredith 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 Meredith with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
27K
1 in 12,743
Census rank
#1,481
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
23K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 23,456 bearers of the surname Meredith in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1481st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Meredith, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.6%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Meredith
The surname Meredith has its origins in Wales, deriving from the Old Welsh words "mer" meaning "mariner" or "sea protector" and "iddyn" meaning "estate" or "land". It was initially a place name referring to a coastal estate or property.
The name can be traced back to the 12th century, with early records showing variations such as Meredith, Meredyth, and Merideth. One of the earliest recorded instances is found in the Pipe Rolls of Herefordshire in 1195, mentioning a Richard de Merieth.
In the 13th century, the name appeared in the Liber Feodorum, a record of feudal landholdings, with references to individuals bearing the name Meredith in Glamorgan and Monmouthshire.
The Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the name Meredith, as it primarily covered areas of England at that time.
Notable individuals with the surname Meredith include Sir William Meredith (c. 1328-1395), a Welsh knight and landowner who served in the military campaigns of Edward III and Richard II. Another prominent figure was George Meredith (1828-1909), an English novelist and poet widely regarded as one of the great Victorian-era writers.
Other historically significant individuals with the Meredith surname include Sir William Meredith (c. 1604-1679), a Welsh politician and judge who served as the Chief Justice of Chester, and Richard Meredith (1754-1815), an American lawyer and politician who served as the 14th United States Secretary of the Treasury.
In the realm of the arts, George Meredith (1796-1860), an English painter and engraver, and George Frampton Meredith (1839-1909), an English sculptor known for his works depicting Queen Victoria and other notable figures, both carried the Meredith surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Meredith
Among Census respondents with the surname Meredith, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.6%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Meredith 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 Meredith surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.6% · 18,912
- Black or African American10.6% · 2,478
- Two or more races4.0% · 948
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 746
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 276
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 96
Timeline
Historical Census data for Meredith
Meredith 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
#1,445
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,679
+742 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 8.37
Rank movement Down 87 places
2020
#1,481
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,456
-1,223 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 7.85
Rank movement Down 36 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,358 | 23,937 | 8.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,445 | 24,679 | 8.37 | +742 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 87 places |
| 2020 | #1,481 | 23,456 | 7.85 | -1,223 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 36 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 Meredith 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 | #1,445 | #1,481 | -2.5% |
| Count | 24,679 | 23,456 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 8.37 | 7.85 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Meredith bearers went from 24,679 to 23,456 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 36 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,445 to #1,481.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Meredith
FAQ
Meredith surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Meredith?
Name Census estimates that about 26,898 living Americans carry the surname Meredith. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 12,743 residents.
How common is Meredith?
Meredith ranks #1,481 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.85 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 23,456 people with the surname Meredith. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (26,898), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.85 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Meredith.
Has Meredith become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Meredith went from 24,679 recorded bearers to 23,456. That is a decrease of 1,223 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,445 to #1,481.
What does the Census say about the background of Meredith?
Among Census respondents with the surname Meredith, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.6%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Meredith in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.6% (18,912 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Meredith appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.6%), Black (10.6%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Meredith (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 Meredith mean?
A Welsh surname derived from the given name Meredydd, meaning "great lord" or "sea lord." 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 Meredith (7.85 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 Meredith?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.