2000
#4,281
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,670
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.84
Rare Last name
Morehead
Derived from a place name meaning "head of the moor" or "headland in the marsh" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,270 Americans carry the last name Morehead. That puts it at #4,753 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.41 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 41,446 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Morehead 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
8.3K
1 in 41,446
Census rank
#4,753
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,212 bearers of the surname Morehead in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.41 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4753rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Morehead, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.3%. The next largest groups are Black (17.4%) and Hispanic (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Morehead
The surname Morehead is of English origin, with roots dating back to the medieval era. It is a locational surname derived from a place name, specifically the village of Moorhead or Morehead in Yorkshire, England. The name is believed to have originated from the Old English words "mor" meaning "moor" or "marsh" and "heafod" meaning "head" or "promontory."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Morehead surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings and population in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appeared as "Morheved," referring to a landowner or tenant in the village of Morehead.
During the 13th century, various spellings of the name emerged, including Morehede, Moorhead, and Morhed. These variations reflect the evolution of the English language and regional dialects over time.
In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the Morehead surname was John Morehead (c. 1520 - 1592), a prominent English merchant and Member of Parliament for the borough of Callington in Cornwall.
Another historical figure was Robert Morehead (1738 - 1824), a Scottish-born American patriot and politician who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress during the American Revolutionary War.
James Morehead (1789 - 1868) was a notable American politician and lawyer who served as the 12th Governor of Kentucky from 1834 to 1836.
In the realm of literature, John Moreheadius (1570 - 1632), also known as John Morehead, was an English theologian and author who wrote several religious works in Latin.
Sir Charles Morehead (1807 - 1882) was a British colonial administrator who served as the Lieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces in British India from 1857 to 1859.
These examples illustrate the widespread presence of the Morehead surname across different fields and regions throughout history, reflecting its enduring legacy as a surname of English origin.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Morehead
Among Census respondents with the surname Morehead, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.3%. The next largest groups are Black (17.4%) and Hispanic (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Morehead 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 Morehead surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.3% · 5,213
- Black or African American17.4% · 1,257
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 332
- Two or more races4.5% · 326
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 50
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 34
Timeline
Historical Census data for Morehead
Morehead 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
#4,636
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,653
-17 bearers (-0.2%)
Per 100,000 2.59
Rank movement Down 355 places
2020
#4,753
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,212
-441 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 2.41
Rank movement Down 117 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,281 | 7,670 | 2.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,636 | 7,653 | 2.59 | -17 bearers (-0.2%) | Down 355 places |
| 2020 | #4,753 | 7,212 | 2.41 | -441 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 117 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 Morehead 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 | #4,636 | #4,753 | -2.5% |
| Count | 7,653 | 7,212 | -5.8% |
| Per 100K | 2.59 | 2.41 | -6.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Morehead bearers went from 7,653 to 7,212 (-5.8% change). The surname moved down 117 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,636 to #4,753.
FAQ
Morehead surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Morehead?
Name Census estimates that about 8,270 living Americans carry the surname Morehead. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 41,446 residents.
How common is Morehead?
Morehead ranks #4,753 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.41 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 7,212 people with the surname Morehead. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,270), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.41 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.41 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 Morehead.
Has Morehead become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Morehead went from 7,653 recorded bearers to 7,212. That is a decrease of 441 (-5.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,636 to #4,753.
What does the Census say about the background of Morehead?
Among Census respondents with the surname Morehead, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.3%. The next largest groups are Black (17.4%) and Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Morehead in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.3% (5,213 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Morehead appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.3%), Black (17.4%), Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Morehead (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 Morehead mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "head of the moor" or "headland in the marsh" in Old English. 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 Morehead (2.41 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 Morehead?
Want to know how common the surname Morehead is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.