2000
#598
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 51,154
First available Census row
Per 100,000 18.96
Uncommon Last name
Phelps
Derived from a place name meaning "valley of the pasture" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 57,439 Americans carry the last name Phelps. That puts it at #664 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 16.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,967 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Phelps 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 Phelps with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
57K
1 in 5,967
Census rank
#664
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
16.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
50K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 50,090 bearers of the surname Phelps in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 16.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 664th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Phelps, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.8%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Phelps
The surname Phelps has its origins in England, dating back to the 12th century. It is an occupational name derived from the Old English word "felep," meaning a maker or seller of felts or woolen cloth. The name was likely adopted by individuals involved in the wool trade or the production of felted materials.
In the Domesday Book, a census survey conducted in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror, there are records of individuals with the surname Phelps or similar spellings like Felep and Phelep. These early mentions indicate the name's presence in various parts of England during the Norman period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Phelps is found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1191, where a person named Reginald Phelep is mentioned. Another early record is from the Feet of Fines for Yorkshire in 1208, which includes a reference to a William Phelep.
The surname Phelps has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Phelps Farm in Leicestershire and Phelps Manor in Wiltshire. These place names likely derived from individuals or families who bore the surname and owned or resided in those locations.
Notable individuals with the surname Phelps throughout history include:
1. William Phelps (c.1592-1672), an early settler in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and one of the founders of Windsor, Connecticut.
2. Oliver Phelps (1749-1809), an American merchant and land speculator who played a significant role in the settlement of western New York state.
3. John Phelps (1814-1886), an American artist known for his landscape paintings, particularly of the Hudson River Valley.
4. Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward (1844-1911), an American author and pioneer in the field of female writers, best known for her novel "The Gates Ajar."
5. William Lyon Phelps (1865-1943), an American author, critic, and professor of English literature at Yale University, known for his influential works on literature and his popular lecture series.
While the surname Phelps has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and other English-speaking countries, through migration and immigration patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Phelps
Among Census respondents with the surname Phelps, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.8%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Phelps 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 Phelps surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.8% · 40,966
- Black or African American9.5% · 4,755
- Two or more races4.1% · 2,074
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 1,678
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 346
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 271
Timeline
Historical Census data for Phelps
Phelps 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
#657
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 52,044
+890 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 17.64
Rank movement Down 59 places
2020
#664
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 50,090
-1,954 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 16.76
Rank movement Down 7 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #598 | 51,154 | 18.96 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #657 | 52,044 | 17.64 | +890 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 59 places |
| 2020 | #664 | 50,090 | 16.76 | -1,954 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 7 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 Phelps 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 | #657 | #664 | -1.1% |
| Count | 52,044 | 50,090 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 17.64 | 16.76 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Phelps bearers went from 52,044 to 50,090 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 7 positions in the national ranking, going from #657 to #664.
FAQ
Phelps surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Phelps?
Name Census estimates that about 57,439 living Americans carry the surname Phelps. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,967 residents.
How common is Phelps?
Phelps ranks #664 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 16.76 per 100,000 residents, which is about 17 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 50,090 people with the surname Phelps. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (57,439), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 16.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 16.76 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 17 of them to have the surname Phelps.
Has Phelps become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Phelps went from 52,044 recorded bearers to 50,090. That is a decrease of 1,954 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #657 to #664.
What does the Census say about the background of Phelps?
Among Census respondents with the surname Phelps, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.8%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Phelps in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.8% (40,966 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Phelps appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.8%), Black (9.5%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Phelps (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 Phelps mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "valley of the pasture" in Old English. 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 Phelps (16.76 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 Phelps?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.