2000
#771
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 40,708
First available Census row
Per 100,000 15.09
Uncommon Last name
Middleton
A locational surname referring to someone from any of the various places called Middleton, meaning "middle town."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 47,134 Americans carry the last name Middleton. That puts it at #822 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 13.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 7,272 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Middleton 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 Middleton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
47K
1 in 7,272
Census rank
#822
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
13.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
41K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 41,103 bearers of the surname Middleton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 13.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 822nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Middleton, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.4%. The next largest groups are Black (27.2%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Middleton
The surname Middleton originated in England and has its roots in the Old English words 'middel' meaning middle and 'tun' meaning a farm or settlement. It was a locational name given to families who lived in or near the middle town or village.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Middleton surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Mideltun' and 'Midelton'. This suggests that the name was already well-established by the late 11th century.
In the 12th century, the name was recorded as 'Middeltun' in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire in 1195. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 listed a William de Middelton in Cambridgeshire, indicating the surname's spread across various regions of England.
The Middleton surname is also linked to several place names across England, including Middleton in Northamptonshire, Middleton in Warwickshire, and Middleton in Lancashire. These locations likely played a role in the dissemination of the surname.
Notable individuals with the surname Middleton throughout history include Sir Hugh Middleton (c. 1555-1631), an English businessman and engineer best known for overseeing the construction of the New River, a man-made waterway that supplied fresh water to London. Thomas Middleton (c. 1580-1627) was a prominent English Jacobean playwright and poet, while Thomas Fanshaw Middleton (1769-1822) was a celebrated English bishop and author.
Other notable Middletons include Sir Charles Middleton (1726-1813), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolutionary Wars, and Albert Middleton (1885-1960), an English cricketer who played for Yorkshire and England in the early 20th century.
The Middleton surname has remained prevalent throughout the centuries, appearing in various historical records and contributing to the rich tapestry of English history and culture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Middleton
Among Census respondents with the surname Middleton, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.4%. The next largest groups are Black (27.2%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Middleton 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 Middleton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.4% · 26,489
- Black or African American27.2% · 11,170
- Two or more races4.0% · 1,663
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 1,360
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 231
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 190
Timeline
Historical Census data for Middleton
Middleton 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
#813
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 42,578
+1,870 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 14.43
Rank movement Down 42 places
2020
#822
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 41,103
-1,475 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 13.75
Rank movement Down 9 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #771 | 40,708 | 15.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #813 | 42,578 | 14.43 | +1,870 bearers (+4.6%) | Down 42 places |
| 2020 | #822 | 41,103 | 13.75 | -1,475 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 9 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 Middleton 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 | #813 | #822 | -1.1% |
| Count | 42,578 | 41,103 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 14.43 | 13.75 | -4.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Middleton bearers went from 42,578 to 41,103 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 9 positions in the national ranking, going from #813 to #822.
FAQ
Middleton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Middleton?
Name Census estimates that about 47,134 living Americans carry the surname Middleton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 7,272 residents.
How common is Middleton?
Middleton ranks #822 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 13.75 per 100,000 residents, which is about 14 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 41,103 people with the surname Middleton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (47,134), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 13.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 13.75 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 14 of them to have the surname Middleton.
Has Middleton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Middleton went from 42,578 recorded bearers to 41,103. That is a decrease of 1,475 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #813 to #822.
What does the Census say about the background of Middleton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Middleton, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.4%. The next largest groups are Black (27.2%) 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 Middleton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.4% (26,489 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Middleton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (64.4%), Black (27.2%), 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 Middleton (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 Middleton mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from any of the various places called Middleton, meaning "middle town." 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 Middleton (13.75 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 have the surname Middleton?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.