2000
#354
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 80,493
First available Census row
Per 100,000 29.84
Uncommon Last name
Page
An occupational surname referring to a young servant or messenger in a royal household or aristocratic court.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 90,951 Americans carry the last name Page. That puts it at #400 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 26.54 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,769 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Page 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 Page with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
91K
1 in 3,769
Census rank
#400
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
26.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
79K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 79,314 bearers of the surname Page in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 26.54 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 400th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Page, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.7%. The next largest groups are Black (18.0%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Page
The surname PAGE originated in England in the medieval period, deriving from the Old French word 'page' meaning a young male attendant or servant. It emerged as an occupational surname for those who worked as pages or servants in noble households or royal courts.
The earliest recorded examples of the surname PAGE can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, where it was spelled as 'Page'. Other early spellings included 'Pagge' and 'Payge'. The name is also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, listed as 'Pages' and 'Paganus'.
During the Middle Ages, the surname PAGE was most prevalent in the southern counties of England, particularly in Kent, Surrey, and Sussex. It was also found in areas near royal residences, such as Windsor and Eton, where many pages were employed.
Notable historical figures with the surname PAGE include John Page, an English Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake in 1556 during the Marian Persecutions. Another early bearer of the name was Thomas Page (c. 1170-1237), an English judge and Lord Chief Justice of England from 1233 to 1237.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname PAGE was associated with several prominent families in England. Sir William Page (c. 1590-1663) was a wealthy merchant and Lord Mayor of London in 1647. Thomas Page (1585-1647) was an English clergyman and member of the Westminster Assembly, which produced the Westminster Confession of Faith.
The surname PAGE was also found in early American colonial records. One of the earliest bearers of the name was John Page (1627-1692), a wealthy planter and merchant who settled in Virginia in the mid-17th century. His descendants included several notable figures, such as John Page (1743-1808), a politician and Governor of Virginia, and Thomas Jefferson Page (1808-1899), a Confederate officer during the American Civil War.
Other famous individuals with the surname PAGE include Walter Hines Page (1855-1918), an American diplomat and the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom during World War I, and Gertrude Page (1872-1922), an English actress and producer known for her work in Edwardian musical comedies.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Page
Among Census respondents with the surname Page, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.7%. The next largest groups are Black (18.0%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Page 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 Page surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.7% · 57,689
- Black or African American18.0% · 14,240
- Two or more races4.3% · 3,378
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 2,892
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 672
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 443
Timeline
Historical Census data for Page
Page 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
#383
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 82,992
+2,499 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 28.13
Rank movement Down 29 places
2020
#400
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 79,314
-3,678 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 26.54
Rank movement Down 17 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #354 | 80,493 | 29.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #383 | 82,992 | 28.13 | +2,499 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 29 places |
| 2020 | #400 | 79,314 | 26.54 | -3,678 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 17 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 Page 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 | #383 | #400 | -4.4% |
| Count | 82,992 | 79,314 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 28.13 | 26.54 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Page bearers went from 82,992 to 79,314 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 17 positions in the national ranking, going from #383 to #400.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Page
FAQ
Page surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Page?
Name Census estimates that about 90,951 living Americans carry the surname Page. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,769 residents.
How common is Page?
Page ranks #400 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 26.54 per 100,000 residents, which is about 27 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 79,314 people with the surname Page. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (90,951), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 26.54 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 26.54 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 27 of them to have the surname Page.
Has Page become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Page went from 82,992 recorded bearers to 79,314. That is a decrease of 3,678 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #383 to #400.
What does the Census say about the background of Page?
Among Census respondents with the surname Page, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.7%. The next largest groups are Black (18.0%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Page in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.7% (57,689 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Page appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.7%), Black (18.0%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Page (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 Page mean?
An occupational surname referring to a young servant or messenger in a royal household or aristocratic court. 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 Page (26.54 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 last name Page?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Page is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.