2000
#281
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 98,728
First available Census row
Per 100,000 36.60
Common Last name
Pearson
An English occupational surname referring to a person who worked with pears or lived near a pear tree.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 111,877 Americans carry the last name Pearson. That puts it at #317 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 32.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,064 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pearson 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 Pearson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
112K
1 in 3,064
Census rank
#317
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
32.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
98K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 97,562 bearers of the surname Pearson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 32.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 317th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pearson, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.4%. The next largest groups are Black (21.8%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pearson
The surname PEARSON is of English origin and dates back to the late 12th century. It is a patronymic name, meaning "son of Piers", which was a common medieval English form of the name Peter. The name Peter derives from the Greek name Petros, meaning "rock" or "stone".
PEARSON was originally found in northern English counties such as Yorkshire and Lancashire. Early spellings of the name included Pereson, Peresson, Peirson, and Pierson. The "Pear" element of the name likely evolved from the earlier "Pier" or "Piers" forms.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name PEARSON appears in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1199, referring to a William Pearson. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also list several individuals with the surname PEARSON in various counties.
Notable historical figures with the surname PEARSON include Sir Richard Pearson (1731-1806), a British naval officer who served in the American Revolutionary War. John Pearson (1613-1686) was an English author and clergyman who wrote biographies of famous figures like John Donne and John Hales.
In the 16th century, a branch of the PEARSON family settled in the area of Torne, East Yorkshire, giving rise to the place name Pearson House. Another branch established themselves in the Howdenshire area, owning land called Pearson Flatt.
Other notable individuals with the PEARSON surname include Henry Pearson (1870-1916), an English cricketer who played for Yorkshire and England; Lancelot Pearson (1835-1906), an English architect known for designing the Royal College of Music; and Carl Pearson (1857-1936), an English mathematician and philosopher who established the modern field of statistics.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pearson
Among Census respondents with the surname Pearson, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.4%. The next largest groups are Black (21.8%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Pearson 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 Pearson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.4% · 67,733
- Black or African American21.8% · 21,242
- Two or more races4.3% · 4,149
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 3,338
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 708
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 392
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pearson
Pearson 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
#308
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101,836
+3,108 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 34.52
Rank movement Down 27 places
2020
#317
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 97,562
-4,274 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 32.64
Rank movement Down 9 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #281 | 98,728 | 36.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #308 | 101,836 | 34.52 | +3,108 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 27 places |
| 2020 | #317 | 97,562 | 32.64 | -4,274 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 9 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 Pearson 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 | #308 | #317 | -2.9% |
| Count | 101,836 | 97,562 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 34.52 | 32.64 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pearson bearers went from 101,836 to 97,562 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 9 positions in the national ranking, going from #308 to #317.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Pearson
FAQ
Pearson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pearson?
Name Census estimates that about 111,877 living Americans carry the surname Pearson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,064 residents.
How common is Pearson?
Pearson ranks #317 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 32.64 per 100,000 residents, which is about 33 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 97,562 people with the surname Pearson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (111,877), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 32.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 32.64 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 33 of them to have the surname Pearson.
Has Pearson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pearson went from 101,836 recorded bearers to 97,562. That is a decrease of 4,274 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #308 to #317.
What does the Census say about the background of Pearson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pearson, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.4%. The next largest groups are Black (21.8%) 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 Pearson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.4% (67,733 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pearson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (69.4%), Black (21.8%), 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 Pearson (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 Pearson mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a person who worked with pears or lived near a pear tree. 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 Pearson (32.64 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 Pearson?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.