2000
#8,671
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,492
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.29
Rare Last name
Ormsby
A locational surname derived from a place in England meaning "Orm's farmstead or village."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,121 Americans carry the last name Ormsby. That puts it at #8,758 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 83,173 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ormsby 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 Ormsby with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.1K
1 in 83,173
Census rank
#8,758
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,594 bearers of the surname Ormsby in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8758th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ormsby, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.6%) and Black (7.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ormsby
The surname Ormsby has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to be a locational name, derived from the Old Norse words "ormr" meaning serpent or dragon, and "by" meaning a farmstead or village. This suggests that the name originated from a settlement, possibly called Ormsby, where individuals may have lived near or were associated with a serpent-like shape or emblem.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which documented landowners and tenants throughout England after the Norman Conquest. The entry mentions an individual named Orme, who held lands in Lincolnshire. This could be an early variant of the surname Ormsby.
Over the centuries, the name has been spelled in various ways, including Ormesby, Ormsby, Ormesbi, and Ormisby, reflecting regional variations and evolving spelling conventions. Some of these variations are also found in place names across England, such as Ormesby in Norfolk and Ormesby St. Margaret in Yorkshire.
Notable individuals with the surname Ormsby include:
1. John Ormsby (1829-1895), an English scholar and translator best known for his acclaimed English translation of Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote.
2. Sir Lambert Ormsby (1619-1688), an Irish soldier and politician who served as a Member of Parliament and fought in the English Civil War.
3. William Gregory Ormsby (1832-1889), an Irish-born Anglican priest and author who became the Archdeacon of Northumberland.
4. Leonard Ormsby-Gore (1825-1904), a British politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Shropshire.
5. John Ormsby Evelyn Heathcoat-Amory (1886-1954), a British Conservative politician and Member of Parliament for Tiverton.
While the surname Ormsby has roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through British emigration and colonization. However, the historical origins and early references to the name remain closely tied to its English heritage and the medieval period.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ormsby
Among Census respondents with the surname Ormsby, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.6%) and Black (7.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Ormsby 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 Ormsby surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.5% · 2,858
- Hispanic or Latino7.6% · 272
- Black or African American7.2% · 259
- Two or more races4.0% · 144
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 45
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ormsby
Ormsby 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
#8,981
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,643
+151 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 1.24
Rank movement Down 310 places
2020
#8,758
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,594
-49 bearers (-1.3%)
Per 100,000 1.20
Rank movement Up 223 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,671 | 3,492 | 1.29 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,981 | 3,643 | 1.24 | +151 bearers (+4.3%) | Down 310 places |
| 2020 | #8,758 | 3,594 | 1.20 | -49 bearers (-1.3%) | Up 223 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 Ormsby 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 | #8,981 | #8,758 | 2.5% |
| Count | 3,643 | 3,594 | -1.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.24 | 1.20 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ormsby bearers went from 3,643 to 3,594 (-1.3% change). The surname moved up 223 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,981 to #8,758.
FAQ
Ormsby surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ormsby?
Name Census estimates that about 4,121 living Americans carry the surname Ormsby. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 83,173 residents.
How common is Ormsby?
Ormsby ranks #8,758 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.20 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 3,594 people with the surname Ormsby. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,121), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.20 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 Ormsby.
Has Ormsby become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ormsby went from 3,643 recorded bearers to 3,594. That is a decrease of 49 (-1.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,981 to #8,758.
What does the Census say about the background of Ormsby?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ormsby, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.6%) and Black (7.2%). 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 Ormsby in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.5% (2,858 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ormsby appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.5%), Hispanic (7.6%), Black (7.2%). 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 Ormsby (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 Ormsby mean?
A locational surname derived from a place in England meaning "Orm's farmstead or village." 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 Ormsby (1.20 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 Ormsby?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.