2000
#4,355
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,533
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.79
Rare Last name
Olds
Derived from a place name meaning "old house" in Old English, likely referring to someone who lived there.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,383 Americans carry the last name Olds. That puts it at #4,702 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.45 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 40,887 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Olds 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 Olds with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.4K
1 in 40,887
Census rank
#4,702
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,310 bearers of the surname Olds in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.45 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4702nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Olds, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.4%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Olds
The surname Olds is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "eald" or "ald," meaning "old" or "aged." It likely originated as a nickname or descriptive name for an elderly person or someone perceived as wise or experienced beyond their years.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Olds can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of England, including Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire. Records from the Hundred Rolls of 1273 mention individuals with the surname Olds or similar spellings such as Olde and Oldes.
In the Middle Ages, the name Olds appeared in various historical documents, including the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, which listed a Robert Olde among the taxpayers. The Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1379 also mentioned a John Olde.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Olds, born around 1450 in Lincolnshire, England. He was a landowner and farmer who passed his estate down to his descendants.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Olds family began to spread across different parts of England, with some members settling in the county of Cheshire. One notable individual from this period was Thomas Olds, born in 1590 in Cheshire, who served as a member of the Parliament during the English Civil War.
In the late 17th century, the Olds surname was also found in the neighboring regions of Wales and Scotland, possibly due to migration or intermarriage. One such individual was David Olds, born in 1678 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, who was a respected merchant and trader.
As the centuries progressed, the Olds surname continued to spread across the British Isles and eventually to other parts of the world through emigration. Notable bearers of the name include:
1. Ransom Olds (1864-1950), an American automobile pioneer and founder of the Oldsmobile brand.
2. Sir Alfred Olds (1891-1978), a British civil engineer and industrialist.
3. Moyna Olds (1923-2002), an American artist and painter known for her abstract expressionist works.
4. Sharon Olds (born 1942), an American poet and recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
5. Robin Olds (1922-2007), a highly decorated American fighter pilot and ace during World War II and the Vietnam War.
While the surname Olds may have evolved from a simple descriptive nickname, it has become a lasting legacy carried by individuals across various fields and professions throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Olds
Among Census respondents with the surname Olds, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.4%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Olds 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 Olds surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.8% · 5,174
- Black or African American19.4% · 1,421
- Two or more races4.6% · 336
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 256
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 65
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 58
Timeline
Historical Census data for Olds
Olds 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
#4,627
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,670
+137 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 2.60
Rank movement Down 272 places
2020
#4,702
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,310
-360 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 2.45
Rank movement Down 75 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,355 | 7,533 | 2.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,627 | 7,670 | 2.60 | +137 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 272 places |
| 2020 | #4,702 | 7,310 | 2.45 | -360 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 75 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 Olds 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 | #4,627 | #4,702 | -1.6% |
| Count | 7,670 | 7,310 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.60 | 2.45 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Olds bearers went from 7,670 to 7,310 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 75 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,627 to #4,702.
FAQ
Olds surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Olds?
Name Census estimates that about 8,383 living Americans carry the surname Olds. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 40,887 residents.
How common is Olds?
Olds ranks #4,702 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.45 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 7,310 people with the surname Olds. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,383), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.45 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.45 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 Olds.
Has Olds become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Olds went from 7,670 recorded bearers to 7,310. That is a decrease of 360 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,627 to #4,702.
What does the Census say about the background of Olds?
Among Census respondents with the surname Olds, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.4%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Olds in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.8% (5,174 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Olds appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (70.8%), Black (19.4%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Olds (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 Olds mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "old house" in Old English, likely referring to someone who lived there. 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 Olds (2.45 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 surname Olds?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.