2000
#2,689
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,348
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.58
Uncommon Last name
Myles
A surname of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic "maol," meaning "bald" or "tonsured," likely referring to a monk.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,795 Americans carry the last name Myles. That puts it at #2,557 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 21,700 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Myles 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 Myles with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
16K
1 in 21,700
Census rank
#2,557
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,774 bearers of the surname Myles in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2557th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Myles, the largest self-reported group is Black at 69.7%. The next largest groups are White (20.7%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Myles
The surname Myles is of English origin, derived from the old French personal name Miles, which itself came from the Latin name Milius or Aemilius. The name is believed to have been first introduced to England by the Norman conquest in the 11th century.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Myles dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Miles" and "Milez". The name was particularly prevalent in counties such as Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Wiltshire during the Middle Ages.
In the 13th century, the name Myles can be found in various records, including the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which mention individuals such as John Myles of Oxfordshire and Richard Myles of Berkshire. During this period, variations of the name like "Mylys" and "Mieles" were also in use.
One notable historical figure with the surname Myles was John Myles (c. 1590-1683), an English Baptist minister who played a significant role in the early history of the Baptist church in America. He served as the pastor of the Swansea Baptist Church in Massachusetts, one of the earliest Baptist congregations in the colonies.
Another individual of note was Sir Abraham Myles (1577-1629), an English merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1624. He was also a member of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers and a prominent figure in the city's mercantile community.
In the literary world, Nathaniel Myles (1675-1745) was an English clergyman and author who published several works, including "The Philosophical Principles of Natural and Revealed Religion" and "The Life of Oliver Cromwell."
The surname Myles has also been associated with various places throughout England, such as Myles's Green in Gloucestershire and Myles's Croft in Somerset, both of which likely derived their names from individuals bearing the surname.
John Myles (1605-1683), an English Baptist minister and one of the founders of the Baptist church in America, is another notable figure with this surname. He established the first Baptist church in Massachusetts and played a crucial role in the early history of the Baptist denomination in the colonies.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Myles
Among Census respondents with the surname Myles, the largest self-reported group is Black at 69.7%. The next largest groups are White (20.7%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Myles 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 Myles surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American69.7% · 9,599
- White20.7% · 2,853
- Two or more races5.1% · 701
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 503
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 69
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 49
Timeline
Historical Census data for Myles
Myles 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
#2,591
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,898
+1,550 bearers (+12.6%)
Per 100,000 4.71
Rank movement Up 98 places
2020
#2,557
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,774
-124 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 4.61
Rank movement Up 34 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,689 | 12,348 | 4.58 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,591 | 13,898 | 4.71 | +1,550 bearers (+12.6%) | Up 98 places |
| 2020 | #2,557 | 13,774 | 4.61 | -124 bearers (-0.9%) | Up 34 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 Myles 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 | #2,591 | #2,557 | 1.3% |
| Count | 13,898 | 13,774 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 4.71 | 4.61 | -2.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Myles bearers went from 13,898 to 13,774 (-0.9% change). The surname moved up 34 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,591 to #2,557.
FAQ
Myles surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Myles?
Name Census estimates that about 15,795 living Americans carry the surname Myles. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 21,700 residents.
How common is Myles?
Myles ranks #2,557 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.61 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,774 people with the surname Myles. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,795), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.61 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Myles.
Has Myles become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Myles went from 13,898 recorded bearers to 13,774. That is a decrease of 124 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,591 to #2,557.
What does the Census say about the background of Myles?
Among Census respondents with the surname Myles, the largest self-reported group is Black at 69.7%. The next largest groups are White (20.7%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Myles in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.7% (9,599 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Myles appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (69.7%), White (20.7%), Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Myles (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 Myles mean?
A surname of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic "maol," meaning "bald" or "tonsured," likely referring to a monk. 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 Myles (4.61 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 Americans have the surname Myles?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.