2000
#9,585
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.15
Rare Last name
Millsaps
Derived from a place name meaning "Mil's aspen-covered hill" in Old English, referring to a family's residence.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,547 Americans carry the last name Millsaps. That puts it at #9,960 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 96,632 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Millsaps 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
3.5K
1 in 96,632
Census rank
#9,960
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,093 bearers of the surname Millsaps in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9960th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Millsaps, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Black (8.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Millsaps
The surname Millsaps is of English origin, originating in the 16th century. It is a locational name derived from a place called Mills Chapel, located in the county of Oxfordshire. The name is a combination of the words "mill" and "chapel," referring to a chapel near a mill.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, the earliest surviving public record in England, there are mentions of places with similar names, such as Milnecope and Milnestede, which could be related to the origin of the name Millsaps.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Parish Registers of Oxfordshire, where a William Millsaps was mentioned in 1587. The name also appeared in various court records and tax rolls from the 16th and 17th centuries in the counties of Oxfordshire and Berkshire.
During the 17th century, the name Millsaps began to spread to other parts of England, and by the late 18th century, it had become more widely dispersed across the country. Notable individuals with the surname Millsaps include John Millsaps (1635-1698), a landowner from Berkshire, and Sarah Millsaps (1712-1784), a prominent member of the Quaker community in Oxfordshire.
In the 19th century, the name crossed the Atlantic, with several Millsaps families emigrating to the United States. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in America is that of Thomas Millsaps (1794-1872), who settled in Virginia and later moved to Mississippi.
Another notable figure in the history of the Millsaps name is Major Reuben Webster Millsaps (1828-1916), a wealthy businessman and philanthropist from Mississippi. He founded Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1892, which remains an esteemed institution to this day.
Other prominent individuals with the surname Millsaps include Eloise Millsaps (1906-1999), an American artist and illustrator known for her work with children's books, and John Millsaps (1921-2010), a respected educator and civil rights activist from Mississippi.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Millsaps
Among Census respondents with the surname Millsaps, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Black (8.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Millsaps 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 Millsaps surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.6% · 2,618
- Black or African American8.3% · 257
- Two or more races3.8% · 119
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 73
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Millsaps
Millsaps 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
#9,895
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,267
+156 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 1.11
Rank movement Down 310 places
2020
#9,960
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,093
-174 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 1.03
Rank movement Down 65 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,585 | 3,111 | 1.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,895 | 3,267 | 1.11 | +156 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 310 places |
| 2020 | #9,960 | 3,093 | 1.03 | -174 bearers (-5.3%) | 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 Millsaps 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 | #9,895 | #9,960 | -0.7% |
| Count | 3,267 | 3,093 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.11 | 1.03 | -6.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Millsaps bearers went from 3,267 to 3,093 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 65 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,895 to #9,960.
FAQ
Millsaps surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Millsaps?
Name Census estimates that about 3,547 living Americans carry the surname Millsaps. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 96,632 residents.
How common is Millsaps?
Millsaps ranks #9,960 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.03 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 3,093 people with the surname Millsaps. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,547), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.03 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 Millsaps.
Has Millsaps become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Millsaps went from 3,267 recorded bearers to 3,093. That is a decrease of 174 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,895 to #9,960.
What does the Census say about the background of Millsaps?
Among Census respondents with the surname Millsaps, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Black (8.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Millsaps in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.6% (2,618 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Millsaps appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.6%), Black (8.3%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Millsaps (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 Millsaps mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "Mil's aspen-covered hill" in Old English, referring to a family's residence. 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 Millsaps (1.03 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 Millsaps?
Want to know how common the surname Millsaps is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.