2000
#12,657
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,241
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.83
Rare Last name
Orchard
An English toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near or worked in an orchard or fruit garden.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,704 Americans carry the last name Orchard. That puts it at #12,545 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 126,758 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Orchard 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 Orchard with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.7K
1 in 126,758
Census rank
#12,545
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,358 bearers of the surname Orchard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12545th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Orchard, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Orchard
The surname Orchard is of English origin and can be traced back to the late 12th century. It is a locational name derived from the Old English words "ort-geard", meaning a garden or orchard of fruit trees. The name originally referred to a person who lived near an orchard or worked as an orchard keeper.
Some of the earliest recorded instances of the Orchard surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1190, where it is spelled as "de Orchard". The name also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1296, listed as "Atte Orchard". These early spellings suggest that the name was initially a descriptive one, denoting someone who lived near or worked in an orchard.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landowners in England, there is an entry for a place called "Orcarde" in Somerset, which may have been the origin of some early instances of the Orchard surname.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Orchard surname was William de Orchard, who was recorded in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1260. Another early instance was John Attorchard, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327.
Over the centuries, the surname Orchard has been associated with several notable individuals. These include:
1. Sir James Orchard (1653-1714), an English churchman and theologian who served as Bishop of Ely from 1705 until his death.
2. Robert Orchard (1608-1665), an English clergyman and author who wrote several religious works, including "The Portraiture of a Christian Gentleman".
3. Thomas Orchard (1785-1865), an English Baptist minister and author who wrote extensively on baptism and other theological topics.
4. Sir William Orchard (1825-1904), a British Army officer who served in the Crimean War and was later appointed Lieutenant-Governor of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.
5. John Orchard (1928-2020), an English cricketer who played for Somerset County Cricket Club and represented England in six Test matches between 1951 and 1954.
While the Orchard surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through immigration and settlement in various English-speaking countries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Orchard
Among Census respondents with the surname Orchard, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Orchard 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 Orchard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 2,131
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 96
- Two or more races3.6% · 84
- Black or African American0.9% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Orchard
Orchard 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
#13,101
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,340
+99 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 444 places
2020
#12,545
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,358
+18 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Up 556 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,657 | 2,241 | 0.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,101 | 2,340 | 0.79 | +99 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 444 places |
| 2020 | #12,545 | 2,358 | 0.79 | +18 bearers (+0.8%) | Up 556 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 Orchard 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 | #13,101 | #12,545 | 4.2% |
| Count | 2,340 | 2,358 | 0.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.79 | 0.79 | -0.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Orchard bearers went from 2,340 to 2,358 (+0.8% change). The surname moved up 556 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,101 to #12,545.
FAQ
Orchard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Orchard?
Name Census estimates that about 2,704 living Americans carry the surname Orchard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 126,758 residents.
How common is Orchard?
Orchard ranks #12,545 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.79 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,358 people with the surname Orchard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,704), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.79 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Orchard.
Has Orchard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Orchard went from 2,340 recorded bearers to 2,358. That is an increase of 18 (+0.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,101 to #12,545.
What does the Census say about the background of Orchard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Orchard, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Orchard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (2,131 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Orchard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.4%), Hispanic (4.1%), Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Orchard (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 Orchard mean?
An English toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near or worked in an orchard or fruit garden. 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 Orchard (0.79 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 Orchard?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Orchard, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.