2000
#13,181
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,125
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.79
Rare Last name
Organ
An occupational surname for a person who played the organ or made musical instruments.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,220 Americans carry the last name Organ. That puts it at #14,724 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.65 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 154,394 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Organ 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 Organ with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 154,394
Census rank
#14,724
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,936 bearers of the surname Organ in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.65 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14724th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Organ, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (10.7%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Organ
The surname Organ is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word "organan," which means "organ player" or "musician." This suggests that the name was initially given as an occupational surname to someone who played the organ or was a musician by trade.
One of the earliest known records of the Organ surname dates back to the 13th century in the county of Oxfordshire. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 mentions a Walter le Organer, indicating that he was a member of the organ-playing profession.
During the 16th century, the Organ surname appeared in various parish records across England. For instance, the baptism of John Organ was recorded in the parish of St. Sepulchre, London, in 1567. Additionally, the marriage of Richard Organ and Alice Coxe was documented in the parish of Steeple Aston, Oxfordshire, in 1591.
Notably, the Organ surname can also be traced back to the village of Orgreave in South Yorkshire. This place name, which was originally spelled as "Orgrave" in the Domesday Book of 1086, likely contributed to the surname's development in that region.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the Organ surname was William Organ (c. 1635-1712), an English composer and organist who served as the Master of the Choristers at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford.
Another prominent figure was John Organ (1585-1638), an English poet and clergyman who held the position of Archdeacon of Suffolk and Prebendary of Ely Cathedral.
In the 18th century, John Organ (1726-1788) was a renowned English clockmaker and watchmaker who worked in London and contributed significantly to the development of precision timekeeping devices.
Moving into the 19th century, Edward Organ (1801-1858) was a British architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London, including the former Lambeth Bridge.
Additionally, James Organ (1835-1888) was a British artist and painter known for his landscapes and genre scenes depicting rural life in England.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the Organ surname throughout history, highlighting its English origins and potential occupational roots in the musical or ecclesiastical fields.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Organ
Among Census respondents with the surname Organ, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (10.7%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Organ 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 Organ surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.9% · 1,567
- Black or African American10.7% · 208
- Two or more races4.1% · 80
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Organ
Organ 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
#12,696
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,431
+306 bearers (+14.4%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Up 485 places
2020
#14,724
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,936
-495 bearers (-20.4%)
Per 100,000 0.65
Rank movement Down 2,028 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,181 | 2,125 | 0.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,696 | 2,431 | 0.82 | +306 bearers (+14.4%) | Up 485 places |
| 2020 | #14,724 | 1,936 | 0.65 | -495 bearers (-20.4%) | Down 2,028 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 Organ 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 | #12,696 | #14,724 | -16.0% |
| Count | 2,431 | 1,936 | -20.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.82 | 0.65 | -21.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Organ bearers went from 2,431 to 1,936 (-20.4% change). The surname moved down 2,028 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,696 to #14,724.
FAQ
Organ surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Organ?
Name Census estimates that about 2,220 living Americans carry the surname Organ. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 154,394 residents.
How common is Organ?
Organ ranks #14,724 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.65 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 1,936 people with the surname Organ. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,220), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.65 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.65 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 Organ.
Has Organ become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Organ went from 2,431 recorded bearers to 1,936. That is a decrease of 495 (-20.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,696 to #14,724.
What does the Census say about the background of Organ?
Among Census respondents with the surname Organ, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (10.7%) 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 Organ in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.9% (1,567 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Organ appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.9%), Black (10.7%), 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 Organ (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 Organ mean?
An occupational surname for a person who played the organ or made musical instruments. 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 Organ (0.65 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 Organ?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Organ at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.