2000
#4,928
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,551
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.43
Rare Last name
Munro
A Scottish toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "mount" or "bare hill" in Gaelic.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,684 Americans carry the last name Munro. That puts it at #5,071 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.24 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 44,606 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Munro 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 Munro with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.7K
1 in 44,606
Census rank
#5,071
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,701 bearers of the surname Munro in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.24 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5071st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Munro, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Black (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Munro
The surname Munro has its origins in Scotland, with records dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Gaelic words "muine" meaning "hill" or "mount", and "rath" meaning "castle" or "fort", suggesting that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a fortified hill or castle.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish nobles who swore fealty to Edward I of England. The name appears as "Monro" and is thought to refer to the Chief of the Clan Munro, who held lands in the Scottish Highlands.
The Munros were a powerful clan in the northern Highlands, particularly in the counties of Ross and Cromarty. Their ancestral home was the Barony of Foulis, near the town of Dingwall. The clan played a significant role in Scottish history, participating in various conflicts, including the Wars of Scottish Independence and the Jacobite Risings.
In the 14th century, a branch of the Munro clan migrated to the Isle of Skye, where they became known as the Munros of Skye. This branch of the family later settled in the Outer Hebrides and maintained their distinct identity as a cadet branch of the main Munro clan.
One notable figure associated with the Munro surname is Sir Robert Munro, 18th Baron of Foulis (1642-1688), a Scottish military commander who fought for the Covenanters during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Carbisdale in 1650, where he defeated a Royalist force led by the Marquis of Montrose.
Another prominent Munro was Sir Hector Munro (1726-1805), a Scottish military officer who served in the British Army during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. He commanded British forces at the Battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775, one of the first engagements of the American Revolution.
In the literary world, Neil Munro (1863-1930) was a Scottish writer and journalist, best known for his humorous short stories and novels set in the Highlands, including the popular "Para Handy" series.
Other notable figures with the Munro surname include Hector Hugh Munro (1870-1916), better known by his pen name "Saki", a British writer and satirist renowned for his witty and often macabre short stories, and Alice Munro (1931-present), a Canadian short story writer and Nobel laureate.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Munro
Among Census respondents with the surname Munro, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Black (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Munro 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 Munro surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.1% · 5,770
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 314
- Black or African American4.2% · 282
- Two or more races3.5% · 232
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 65
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 38
Timeline
Historical Census data for Munro
Munro 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
#5,067
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,918
+367 bearers (+5.6%)
Per 100,000 2.35
Rank movement Down 139 places
2020
#5,071
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,701
-217 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 2.24
Rank movement Down 4 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,928 | 6,551 | 2.43 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,067 | 6,918 | 2.35 | +367 bearers (+5.6%) | Down 139 places |
| 2020 | #5,071 | 6,701 | 2.24 | -217 bearers (-3.1%) | Down 4 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 Munro 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 | #5,067 | #5,071 | -0.1% |
| Count | 6,918 | 6,701 | -3.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.35 | 2.24 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Munro bearers went from 6,918 to 6,701 (-3.1% change). The surname moved down 4 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,067 to #5,071.
FAQ
Munro surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Munro?
Name Census estimates that about 7,684 living Americans carry the surname Munro. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 44,606 residents.
How common is Munro?
Munro ranks #5,071 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.24 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 6,701 people with the surname Munro. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,684), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.24 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.24 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 Munro.
Has Munro become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Munro went from 6,918 recorded bearers to 6,701. That is a decrease of 217 (-3.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,067 to #5,071.
What does the Census say about the background of Munro?
Among Census respondents with the surname Munro, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Black (4.2%). 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 Munro in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.1% (5,770 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Munro appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.1%), Hispanic (4.7%), Black (4.2%). 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 Munro (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 Munro mean?
A Scottish toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "mount" or "bare hill" in Gaelic. 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 Munro (2.24 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 Munro?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Munro on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.