2000
#2,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,250
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.28
Uncommon Last name
Parish
An English occupational surname referring to a person who lived near or worked in a church parish.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,747 Americans carry the last name Parish. That puts it at #2,571 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.59 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 21,766 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Parish 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 Parish with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
16K
1 in 21,766
Census rank
#2,571
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,732 bearers of the surname Parish in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.59 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2571st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Parish, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.8%. The next largest groups are Black (11.5%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Parish
The surname Parish is of English origin, derived from the Old French word 'paroche' or 'paroisse', meaning a parish or an ecclesiastical district. The name first emerged during the 12th century, and was initially used to refer to someone who lived near or worked in a parish church or churchyard.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Parish surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1194, which mention a William de Paroch. The surname also appears in various other medieval records, such as the Rotuli Hundredorum of 1275, which lists a John atte Parisshe from Cambridgeshire.
The Parish surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Lancashire, Cheshire, and Yorkshire, where many early bearers of the name were landowners or tenants of ecclesiastical properties. The name may also have derived from specific place names, such as Parish Ridge in Derbyshire or Parish Cray in Kent.
Notable historical figures with the surname Parish include John Parish (1579-1647), an English clergyman and author who served as the rector of Wigan. Another prominent bearer of the name was Sir Woodbine Parish (1796-1882), a British diplomat and traveler who served as a consul in Buenos Aires and wrote several books about his experiences in South America.
The Parish surname can also be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which records landowners and tenants in England at the time of the Norman Conquest. One such entry mentions a Radulfus de Parrochia, or Ralph of the Parish, who held lands in Oxfordshire.
Other notable individuals with the Parish surname include Roger Parish (c. 1505-1585), an English Catholic martyr who was executed during the reign of Elizabeth I, and David Parish (1778-1847), an American politician and jurist who served as the 12th Governor of New Hampshire.
Overall, the Parish surname has a long and rich history, with roots dating back to medieval England and a strong association with the Church and ecclesiastical properties. While originally derived from the Old French word for 'parish', the name has since spread across the English-speaking world and continues to be a prominent surname today.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Parish
Among Census respondents with the surname Parish, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.8%. The next largest groups are Black (11.5%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Parish 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 Parish surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.8% · 10,816
- Black or African American11.5% · 1,581
- Two or more races4.6% · 630
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 428
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 200
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 77
Timeline
Historical Census data for Parish
Parish 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
#2,498
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,466
+216 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 4.90
Rank movement Down 171 places
2020
#2,571
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,732
-734 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 4.59
Rank movement Down 73 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,327 | 14,250 | 5.28 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,498 | 14,466 | 4.90 | +216 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 171 places |
| 2020 | #2,571 | 13,732 | 4.59 | -734 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 73 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 Parish 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 | #2,498 | #2,571 | -2.9% |
| Count | 14,466 | 13,732 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 4.90 | 4.59 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Parish bearers went from 14,466 to 13,732 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 73 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,498 to #2,571.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Parish
FAQ
Parish surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Parish?
Name Census estimates that about 15,747 living Americans carry the surname Parish. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 21,766 residents.
How common is Parish?
Parish ranks #2,571 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.59 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,732 people with the surname Parish. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,747), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.59 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.59 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Parish.
Has Parish become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Parish went from 14,466 recorded bearers to 13,732. That is a decrease of 734 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,498 to #2,571.
What does the Census say about the background of Parish?
Among Census respondents with the surname Parish, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.8%. The next largest groups are Black (11.5%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Parish in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.8% (10,816 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Parish appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.8%), Black (11.5%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Parish (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 Parish mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a person who lived near or worked in a church parish. 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 Parish (4.59 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 Parish?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Parish on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.