2000
#882
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 35,715
First available Census row
Per 100,000 13.24
Uncommon Last name
Richmond
Derived from a place name meaning "rich hill" or "powerful hill" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 40,701 Americans carry the last name Richmond. That puts it at #970 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 11.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 8,421 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Richmond 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 Richmond with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
41K
1 in 8,421
Census rank
#970
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
11.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
35K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 35,493 bearers of the surname Richmond in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 11.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 970th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Richmond, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.0%. The next largest groups are Black (22.3%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Richmond
The surname Richmond originated in England, derived from the place name Richmond, which itself is derived from the Old English words "ric" meaning "wealthy" and "mund" meaning "hill" or "defended settlement". The name likely emerged in the 11th century or earlier.
Richmond was a common place name in England, with towns and villages carrying the name found in various counties, including Yorkshire, Surrey, and Shropshire. The most notable location associated with the name is the town of Richmond in North Yorkshire, which gave its name to the Earldom of Richmond.
The Domesday Book, the great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, records several individuals with the surname Richmond or similar spellings such as Richemont or Richmount. These individuals were likely landowners or tenants in or near places called Richmond.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the surname Richmond is that of Alan Rufus, also known as Alan of Richmond, who was a Breton noble and one of the companions of William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. He was granted the Honour of Richmond in Yorkshire and became the first Earl of Richmond.
Another notable figure with the surname Richmond was Edmund of Richmond (c. 1430-1456), who was the son of Owen Tudor and Catherine of Valois, and thus a member of the Tudor dynasty. Edmund was designated as the heir apparent to the House of Lancaster during the Wars of the Roses, but he died before he could claim the throne.
In the 16th century, Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset (1519-1536), was an illegitimate son of King Henry VIII and his mistress Elizabeth Blount. He was granted the Dukedom of Richmond and was considered a potential heir to the English throne before his untimely death at the age of 17.
Another notable figure with the Richmond surname was Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond (1672-1723), who was a prominent aristocrat and military leader during the reign of Queen Anne and the early years of the House of Hanover.
Legh Richmond (1772-1827) was an English Anglican priest and writer, best known for his book "The Dairyman's Daughter", a popular religious tract that was widely circulated in the 19th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Richmond
Among Census respondents with the surname Richmond, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.0%. The next largest groups are Black (22.3%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Richmond 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 Richmond surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.0% · 24,484
- Black or African American22.3% · 7,908
- Two or more races4.4% · 1,548
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 1,116
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 275
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 162
Timeline
Historical Census data for Richmond
Richmond 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
#934
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 37,053
+1,338 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 12.56
Rank movement Down 52 places
2020
#970
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 35,493
-1,560 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 11.87
Rank movement Down 36 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #882 | 35,715 | 13.24 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #934 | 37,053 | 12.56 | +1,338 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 52 places |
| 2020 | #970 | 35,493 | 11.87 | -1,560 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 36 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 Richmond 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 | #934 | #970 | -3.9% |
| Count | 37,053 | 35,493 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 12.56 | 11.87 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Richmond bearers went from 37,053 to 35,493 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 36 positions in the national ranking, going from #934 to #970.
FAQ
Richmond surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Richmond?
Name Census estimates that about 40,701 living Americans carry the surname Richmond. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 8,421 residents.
How common is Richmond?
Richmond ranks #970 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 11.87 per 100,000 residents, which is about 12 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 35,493 people with the surname Richmond. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (40,701), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 11.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 11.87 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 12 of them to have the surname Richmond.
Has Richmond become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Richmond went from 37,053 recorded bearers to 35,493. That is a decrease of 1,560 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #934 to #970.
What does the Census say about the background of Richmond?
Among Census respondents with the surname Richmond, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.0%. The next largest groups are Black (22.3%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Richmond in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.0% (24,484 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Richmond appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (69.0%), Black (22.3%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Richmond (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 Richmond mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "rich hill" or "powerful hill" 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 Richmond (11.87 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 Richmond?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.