2000
#2,576
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,896
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.78
Uncommon Last name
Myrick
Derived from a place name meaning "pleasant stream" in Old English or from a personal name meaning "dark" in Old Welsh.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 14,341 Americans carry the last name Myrick. That puts it at #2,802 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 23,900 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Myrick 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
14K
1 in 23,900
Census rank
#2,802
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 12,506 bearers of the surname Myrick in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2802nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Myrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.7%. The next largest groups are Black (29.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Myrick
The surname Myrick has its origins in the Old English language and is believed to have derived from the personal name "Myrig" or "Meric." This name was derived from the Old English words "miere," meaning "marsh," and "ric," meaning "powerful" or "rich." The name likely referred to a person who lived near a marsh or owned land around a marshy area.
Myrick is an English surname that originated in the counties of Somerset and Devon in the southwest of England. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Meric" and "Mericc."
In the 13th century, the surname appeared in various forms, such as "Meryck," "Merrick," and "Merryke." These variations were likely due to regional dialects and spelling practices of the time. The spelling "Myrick" became more standardized in the 16th and 17th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Myrick was John Myrick, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Somerset in 1230. Another early record is of William Myrick, who was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Devon in 1327.
In the 16th century, a prominent individual with this surname was Sir Thomas Myrick (c. 1550-1625), an English politician and landowner from Somerset. He served as a Member of Parliament and was knighted by King James I in 1616.
During the 17th century, Samuel Myrick (1617-1672) was a Puritan minister in Massachusetts Bay Colony. He arrived in America in 1636 and served as the minister of the church in Weymouth, Massachusetts.
In the 18th century, Jared Myrick (1720-1808) was a Revolutionary War soldier from Connecticut who fought in several battles, including the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775.
In the 19th century, Herbert Myrick (1834-1892) was an American author and journalist who wrote for various publications, including the New York Tribune and the Boston Traveller.
Throughout history, the Myrick surname has been associated with various place names, such as Myrick in Somerset, Myrick's Batch in Devon, and Myrick's Mill in Virginia. These place names likely originated from individuals with the Myrick surname who owned land or established settlements in those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Myrick
Among Census respondents with the surname Myrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.7%. The next largest groups are Black (29.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Myrick 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 Myrick surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.7% · 7,714
- Black or African American29.9% · 3,738
- Two or more races4.1% · 512
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 418
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 75
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 49
Timeline
Historical Census data for Myrick
Myrick 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
#2,720
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,236
+340 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 4.49
Rank movement Down 144 places
2020
#2,802
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,506
-730 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 4.18
Rank movement Down 82 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,576 | 12,896 | 4.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,720 | 13,236 | 4.49 | +340 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 144 places |
| 2020 | #2,802 | 12,506 | 4.18 | -730 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 82 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 Myrick 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 | #2,720 | #2,802 | -3.0% |
| Count | 13,236 | 12,506 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 4.49 | 4.18 | -6.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Myrick bearers went from 13,236 to 12,506 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 82 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,720 to #2,802.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Myrick
FAQ
Myrick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Myrick?
Name Census estimates that about 14,341 living Americans carry the surname Myrick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 23,900 residents.
How common is Myrick?
Myrick ranks #2,802 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.18 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 12,506 people with the surname Myrick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (14,341), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.18 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Myrick.
Has Myrick become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Myrick went from 13,236 recorded bearers to 12,506. That is a decrease of 730 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,720 to #2,802.
What does the Census say about the background of Myrick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Myrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.7%. The next largest groups are Black (29.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Myrick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.7% (7,714 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Myrick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (61.7%), Black (29.9%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Myrick (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 Myrick mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "pleasant stream" in Old English or from a personal name meaning "dark" in Old Welsh. 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 Myrick (4.18 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 Myrick?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Myrick on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.