2000
#2,258
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,792
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.48
Uncommon Last name
Nunn
An occupational surname referring to a nun or someone employed at a nunnery.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 18,047 Americans carry the last name Nunn. That puts it at #2,247 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.27 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 18,992 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nunn 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 Nunn with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
18K
1 in 18,992
Census rank
#2,247
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,738 bearers of the surname Nunn in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.27 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2247th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nunn, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are Black (25.7%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nunn
The surname Nunn is derived from an old English word meaning "nun" and it was originally an occupational name given to those who worked in nunneries. The name has its roots in England and can be traced back to the 11th century.
It is believed that the earliest recorded use of the surname Nunn was in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was spelled as "Nonne". This suggests that the name had already been in use for some time before the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.
In the 12th century, the name was found in various records as "le Nunne" and "le Nonne", indicating that it was a descriptive surname at the time. By the 13th century, the spelling had evolved to the more modern form of "Nunn".
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname was William Nunn, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1195. Another early bearer of the name was John Nunn, a resident of Cambridgeshire, who was listed in the Hundred Rolls of 1273.
In the 14th century, the name began to appear in various places across England, such as in the Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire in 1379, where a Robert Nunn was recorded.
Over the centuries, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Nunn. One of the most famous was Sir William Nunn (1597-1663), an English politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1629. Another was John Nunn (1770-1841), a British naval officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars.
Other notable Nunns include Thomas Nunn (1806-1872), an English architect who designed several churches in London, and Frederic Nunn (1826-1907), an English cricketer who played for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club.
In the 20th century, one of the most prominent individuals with the surname was Max Nunn (1916-1995), an American mathematician and computer scientist who made significant contributions to the field of artificial intelligence.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nunn
Among Census respondents with the surname Nunn, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are Black (25.7%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Nunn 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 Nunn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.2% · 10,096
- Black or African American25.7% · 4,040
- Two or more races5.0% · 790
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 563
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 133
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 116
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nunn
Nunn 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
#2,164
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,769
+1,977 bearers (+13.4%)
Per 100,000 5.68
Rank movement Up 94 places
2020
#2,247
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,738
-1,031 bearers (-6.1%)
Per 100,000 5.27
Rank movement Down 83 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,258 | 14,792 | 5.48 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,164 | 16,769 | 5.68 | +1,977 bearers (+13.4%) | Up 94 places |
| 2020 | #2,247 | 15,738 | 5.27 | -1,031 bearers (-6.1%) | Down 83 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 Nunn 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 | #2,164 | #2,247 | -3.8% |
| Count | 16,769 | 15,738 | -6.1% |
| Per 100K | 5.68 | 5.27 | -7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nunn bearers went from 16,769 to 15,738 (-6.1% change). The surname moved down 83 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,164 to #2,247.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Nunn
FAQ
Nunn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nunn?
Name Census estimates that about 18,047 living Americans carry the surname Nunn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 18,992 residents.
How common is Nunn?
Nunn ranks #2,247 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.27 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 15,738 people with the surname Nunn. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (18,047), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.27 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.27 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 Nunn.
Has Nunn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nunn went from 16,769 recorded bearers to 15,738. That is a decrease of 1,031 (-6.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,164 to #2,247.
What does the Census say about the background of Nunn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nunn, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are Black (25.7%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Nunn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.2% (10,096 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nunn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (64.2%), Black (25.7%), Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Nunn (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 Nunn mean?
An occupational surname referring to a nun or someone employed at a nunnery. 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 Nunn (5.27 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 have the last name Nunn?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Nunn at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.