2000
#141,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Onthank
A locative name referring to someone who lived by a prominent hill or slope.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Onthank. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Onthank 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Onthank in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Onthank, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Onthank
The surname Onthank has its origins in Scotland, dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "on" meaning "on" and "thanc" meaning "a hill or ridge." The name likely referred to someone who lived on a prominent hill or ridge.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Onthank name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a historical record of Scottish landowners and nobles who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. The name appeared as "Thomas de Onethank," suggesting the family may have originated from a place called Onethank.
In the 15th century, the Onthank family was well-established in the county of Ayrshire, Scotland. Records from that time show the name spelled in various ways, such as Onthanc, Onethank, and Onthank. The different spellings were common in those days due to the lack of standardized spelling conventions.
One notable individual with the Onthank surname was John Onthank, a Scottish merchant and burgess of Ayr, who lived in the late 16th century. He was a prominent figure in the town and served as a magistrate and councilor.
In the 17th century, the Onthank family had expanded to other parts of Scotland, including Edinburgh. William Onthank (1620-1692) was a successful merchant and landowner in the city, and his son, also named William Onthank (1650-1718), was a respected minister of the Church of Scotland.
The Onthank name also has ties to the Scottish Enlightenment period of the 18th century. Robert Onthank (1718-1788) was a well-known philosopher and mathematician who made significant contributions to the study of geometry and calculus.
Another notable figure was Alexander Onthank (1789-1862), a Scottish artist known for his landscape paintings. He was born in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, and his works were widely celebrated during his lifetime.
Over the centuries, the Onthank surname has been carried by numerous individuals, each with their own unique stories and contributions to society. While the name may have originated from a geographical feature, it has since become a part of Scotland's rich cultural heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Onthank
Among Census respondents with the surname Onthank, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Onthank 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 Onthank surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.0% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 3
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Onthank
Onthank 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
#132,206
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 128
+20 bearers (+18.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 9,582 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-11 bearers (-8.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,064 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #141,788 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #132,206 | 128 | 0.04 | +20 bearers (+18.5%) | Up 9,582 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-8.6%) | Down 12,064 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 Onthank 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 | #132,206 | #144,270 | -9.1% |
| Count | 128 | 117 | -8.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Onthank bearers went from 128 to 117 (-8.6% change). The surname moved down 12,064 positions in the national ranking, going from #132,206 to #144,270.
FAQ
Onthank surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Onthank?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Onthank. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Onthank?
Onthank ranks #144,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 117 people with the surname Onthank. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Onthank.
Has Onthank become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Onthank went from 128 recorded bearers to 117. That is a decrease of 11 (-8.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #132,206 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Onthank?
Among Census respondents with the surname Onthank, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Onthank in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.0% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Onthank appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.0%), Hispanic (2.6%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Onthank (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 Onthank mean?
A locative name referring to someone who lived by a prominent hill or slope. 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 Onthank (0.04 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 common is the surname Onthank?
See how many people have the last name Onthank on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.