2000
#10,408
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,838
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.05
Rare Last name
Paisley
A locational surname referring to a person from Paisley, Scotland, which was known for its cloth production.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,266 Americans carry the last name Paisley. That puts it at #10,711 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.95 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 104,946 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Paisley 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 Paisley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.3K
1 in 104,946
Census rank
#10,711
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,848 bearers of the surname Paisley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.95 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10711th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Paisley, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.7%. The next largest groups are Black (12.6%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Paisley
The surname Paisley originated from the town of Paisley in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The name first appeared in records around the 12th century, derived from the Brittonic Celtic words "pasgyll" meaning a pasture or meadow and "ey" meaning island or ridge.
The earliest known spelling of the place name was "Passelet" in 1157, which evolved into "Passeleth" in 1182, and later "Passelay" in 1245. The town of Paisley grew in importance as a religious center with the establishment of Paisley Abbey in the 12th century.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Paisley was Walter de Passelay, who was a witness to a charter granted by Walter fitz Alan, the High Steward of Scotland, around 1230. Another early record is that of Radulphus de Passelay, who was a canon of Glasgow Cathedral in 1256.
In the 14th century, the name appears in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which documented Scottish landowners who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. Among those listed were Johannes de Passelay and William de Passelay.
Paisley Abbey played a significant role in the history of the town and the name. One notable figure was John de Lithgow, who served as Abbot of Paisley from 1389 to 1418. He was involved in the rebuilding of the abbey church and was a prominent figure in Scottish ecclesiastical affairs.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname Paisley became more widespread as families migrated from the town. Robert Paisley (1558-1619) was a Scottish minister and reformer who served as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1616.
In the 19th century, William Paisley (1808-1881) was a Scottish politician and Lord Provost of Glasgow, while Walter Paisley (1858-1932) was a Scottish architect responsible for designing several notable buildings in Glasgow.
Other notable individuals with the surname Paisley include John Paisley (1919-2011), a Scottish politician and Member of Parliament, and Ian Paisley (1926-2014), a Northern Irish Protestant religious leader and politician who served as the First Minister of Northern Ireland.
The name Paisley has also been associated with the distinctive paisley pattern, which originated in the town and became popular in the West after being incorporated into Scottish and English textiles in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Paisley
Among Census respondents with the surname Paisley, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.7%. The next largest groups are Black (12.6%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Paisley 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 Paisley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.7% · 2,298
- Black or African American12.6% · 360
- Two or more races3.1% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 72
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Paisley
Paisley 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
#10,721
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,980
+142 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 1.01
Rank movement Down 313 places
2020
#10,711
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,848
-132 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Up 10 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,408 | 2,838 | 1.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,721 | 2,980 | 1.01 | +142 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 313 places |
| 2020 | #10,711 | 2,848 | 0.95 | -132 bearers (-4.4%) | Up 10 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 Paisley 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 | #10,721 | #10,711 | 0.1% |
| Count | 2,980 | 2,848 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.01 | 0.95 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Paisley bearers went from 2,980 to 2,848 (-4.4% change). The surname moved up 10 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,721 to #10,711.
FAQ
Paisley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Paisley?
Name Census estimates that about 3,266 living Americans carry the surname Paisley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 104,946 residents.
How common is Paisley?
Paisley ranks #10,711 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.95 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 2,848 people with the surname Paisley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,266), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.95 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.95 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 Paisley.
Has Paisley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Paisley went from 2,980 recorded bearers to 2,848. That is a decrease of 132 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,721 to #10,711.
What does the Census say about the background of Paisley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Paisley, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.7%. The next largest groups are Black (12.6%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Paisley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.7% (2,298 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Paisley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.7%), Black (12.6%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Paisley (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 Paisley mean?
A locational surname referring to a person from Paisley, Scotland, which was known for its cloth production. 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 Paisley (0.95 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 Paisley?
If you just want to know how many people are called Paisley, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.