2000
#14,247
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,932
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.72
Rare Last name
Munden
Derived from a place name meaning "at the mouth of the den" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,152 Americans carry the last name Munden. That puts it at #15,091 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 159,272 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Munden 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 Munden with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 159,272
Census rank
#15,091
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,877 bearers of the surname Munden in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15091st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Munden, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Hispanic (5.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Munden
The surname Munden is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "mund" meaning "protection" and "dun" meaning "hill" or "fort". It is believed to have originated in the 12th century and was likely a locational name, referring to someone who lived near a protected hill or fort.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire in 1196, where a William de Munden is mentioned. The 'de' prefix indicates that he was from a place called Munden.
In the Hundred Rolls of 1273, there is a reference to a place called "Munedene" in Hertfordshire, which is thought to be an older spelling of the name and location that the surname derived from.
The Munden surname has also been linked to various place names in England, such as Munden in Hertfordshire, Mundenden in Buckinghamshire, and Munden Green in Berkshire.
Notable individuals with the surname Munden include:
1. Sir Richard Munden (c. 1480-1537), an English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament during the reign of Henry VIII.
2. Joseph Shephard Munden (1758-1832), an English actor renowned for his comic roles on the London stage.
3. Thomas Munden (1753-1821), an English cricketer who played for Hampshire and was considered one of the best batsmen of his era.
4. Sir William Munden (1825-1898), a British civil engineer and architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Royal Courts of Justice.
5. Ethel Munden (1887-1957), an English stage and film actress who appeared in numerous productions in the early 20th century.
The Munden surname has been found across various regions of England, particularly in counties like Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Berkshire, where it likely originated. While it is not a particularly common surname, it has a long and rich history that can be traced back to the Middle Ages.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Munden
Among Census respondents with the surname Munden, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Hispanic (5.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Munden 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 Munden surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.7% · 1,534
- Black or African American8.0% · 151
- Hispanic or Latino5.6% · 105
- Two or more races3.1% · 59
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Munden
Munden 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
#14,050
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,143
+211 bearers (+10.9%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Up 197 places
2020
#15,091
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,877
-266 bearers (-12.4%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Down 1,041 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,247 | 1,932 | 0.72 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,050 | 2,143 | 0.73 | +211 bearers (+10.9%) | Up 197 places |
| 2020 | #15,091 | 1,877 | 0.63 | -266 bearers (-12.4%) | Down 1,041 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 Munden 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 | #14,050 | #15,091 | -7.4% |
| Count | 2,143 | 1,877 | -12.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.73 | 0.63 | -14.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Munden bearers went from 2,143 to 1,877 (-12.4% change). The surname moved down 1,041 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,050 to #15,091.
FAQ
Munden surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Munden?
Name Census estimates that about 2,152 living Americans carry the surname Munden. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 159,272 residents.
How common is Munden?
Munden ranks #15,091 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.63 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 1,877 people with the surname Munden. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,152), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.63 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 Munden.
Has Munden become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Munden went from 2,143 recorded bearers to 1,877. That is a decrease of 266 (-12.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,050 to #15,091.
What does the Census say about the background of Munden?
Among Census respondents with the surname Munden, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Hispanic (5.6%). 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 Munden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.7% (1,534 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Munden appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.7%), Black (8.0%), Hispanic (5.6%). 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 Munden (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 Munden mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "at the mouth of the den" 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 Munden (0.63 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 are called Munden?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Munden on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.