2000
#3,644
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,962
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.32
Rare Last name
Packer
An occupational surname referring to someone who packed items, such as a peddler or merchant.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,858 Americans carry the last name Packer. That puts it at #4,010 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 34,769 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Packer 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 Packer with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.9K
1 in 34,769
Census rank
#4,010
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,597 bearers of the surname Packer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4010th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Packer, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (12.4%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Packer
The surname Packer is of English origin, derived from the occupation of packing goods for transportation or storage. The name first emerged in the Middle Ages, around the 13th century, when the profession of packing and transporting goods became more prevalent with the growth of trade and commerce.
In its earliest form, the name was recorded as "le Pakkere" or "le Packere" in medieval records, reflecting the Old English word "paccan" meaning "to pack." The name was likely first adopted as a descriptive nickname for someone whose occupation involved packing goods, and later became a hereditary surname.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was William le Packere, mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273. The Hundred Rolls were administrative records compiled in England during the reign of King Edward I, providing valuable information about individuals and their occupations during that period.
The Packer surname can also be traced back to various place names in England, such as Packer's Field and Packer's Green, which may have been associated with areas where packers or carriers of goods lived or worked.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Returns of 1379, where John Packer and Robert Packer were listed as taxpayers. This record provides evidence of the surname's early presence in the northern English county of Yorkshire.
During the 16th century, the Packer surname gained prominence in Essex, particularly in the town of Waltham Abbey, where a family of Packers was established. One notable member was Sir Samuel Packer (1527-1590), a successful merchant and benefactor who contributed to the construction of the town's almshouses.
Other notable individuals with the surname Packer include:
1. Thomas Packer (1668-1725), an English clergyman and academic who served as the President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford.
2. John Packer (1670-1743), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Shoreham.
3. Nathaniel Packer (1716-1787), an American settler and pioneer who founded Sunbury, Pennsylvania, and served as a colonel during the American Revolutionary War.
4. Asa Packer (1805-1879), an American industrialist and entrepreneur who founded the Lehigh Valley Railroad and Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
5. Billy Packer (1940-2023), an American basketball analyst and commentator who worked for various networks, including CBS Sports and ESPN.
While the Packer surname is found worldwide today, its origins can be traced back to the occupational and geographical roots in medieval England, where it emerged as a designation for those involved in the packing and transportation of goods.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Packer
Among Census respondents with the surname Packer, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (12.4%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Packer 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 Packer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.4% · 6,911
- Black or African American12.4% · 1,063
- Two or more races3.2% · 272
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 263
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 35
Timeline
Historical Census data for Packer
Packer 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
#3,933
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,048
+86 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 3.07
Rank movement Down 289 places
2020
#4,010
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,597
-451 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 2.88
Rank movement Down 77 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,644 | 8,962 | 3.32 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,933 | 9,048 | 3.07 | +86 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 289 places |
| 2020 | #4,010 | 8,597 | 2.88 | -451 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 77 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 Packer 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 | #3,933 | #4,010 | -2.0% |
| Count | 9,048 | 8,597 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 3.07 | 2.88 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Packer bearers went from 9,048 to 8,597 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 77 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,933 to #4,010.
FAQ
Packer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Packer?
Name Census estimates that about 9,858 living Americans carry the surname Packer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 34,769 residents.
How common is Packer?
Packer ranks #4,010 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.88 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,597 people with the surname Packer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,858), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.88 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Packer.
Has Packer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Packer went from 9,048 recorded bearers to 8,597. That is a decrease of 451 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,933 to #4,010.
What does the Census say about the background of Packer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Packer, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (12.4%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Packer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.4% (6,911 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Packer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.4%), Black (12.4%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Packer (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 Packer mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who packed items, such as a peddler or merchant. 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 Packer (2.88 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 Americans have the surname Packer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.