2000
#569
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 53,198
First available Census row
Per 100,000 19.72
Uncommon Last name
Roberson
Son of Robert, an English patronymic surname derived from the given name Robert.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 62,655 Americans carry the last name Roberson. That puts it at #599 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 18.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,471 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Roberson 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 Roberson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
63K
1 in 5,471
Census rank
#599
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
18.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
55K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 54,638 bearers of the surname Roberson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 18.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 599th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Roberson, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.6%. The next largest groups are Black (42.0%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Roberson
The surname Roberson has its origins in England, and is derived from the Old English words "hrop" or "rop", meaning "rope", and "son", meaning "son of". It likely originated as an occupational name for the son of a rope maker or someone involved in the rope-making trade.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Roberson can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Ropere" and "Ropesson". This suggests that the name was already in use by the late 11th century.
During the medieval period, the name was also spelled as "Roperson", "Ropersone", and "Ropertson", among other variations. These different spellings reflect the regional dialects and scribal conventions of the time.
The Roberson surname is closely associated with several place names in England, such as Roberton in Northumberland and Robertown in Lancashire. These place names likely derived from the surname itself, indicating areas where families with the Roberson name settled.
Notable individuals throughout history who bore the Roberson surname include:
1. John Roberson (c. 1590-1668), an English clergyman and author of several religious works.
2. William Roberson (1768-1842), an American pioneer and frontiersman who explored the American West.
3. Emily Roberson (1843-1925), an American activist and educator who fought for women's rights and racial equality.
4. James Roberson (1890-1972), a Scottish-born American architect known for his work in the Art Deco style.
5. Lillian Roberson (1912-2002), an American jazz singer and actress who performed in the 1940s and 1950s.
These examples demonstrate the widespread use of the Roberson surname across various professions and time periods, reflecting its enduring presence in English-speaking communities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Roberson
Among Census respondents with the surname Roberson, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.6%. The next largest groups are Black (42.0%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Roberson 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 Roberson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.6% · 26,565
- Black or African American42.0% · 22,937
- Two or more races5.1% · 2,789
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 1,745
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 320
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 282
Timeline
Historical Census data for Roberson
Roberson 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
#605
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 56,180
+2,982 bearers (+5.6%)
Per 100,000 19.05
Rank movement Down 36 places
2020
#599
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 54,638
-1,542 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 18.28
Rank movement Up 6 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #569 | 53,198 | 19.72 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #605 | 56,180 | 19.05 | +2,982 bearers (+5.6%) | Down 36 places |
| 2020 | #599 | 54,638 | 18.28 | -1,542 bearers (-2.7%) | Up 6 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 Roberson 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 | #605 | #599 | 1.0% |
| Count | 56,180 | 54,638 | -2.7% |
| Per 100K | 19.05 | 18.28 | -4.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Roberson bearers went from 56,180 to 54,638 (-2.7% change). The surname moved up 6 positions in the national ranking, going from #605 to #599.
FAQ
Roberson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Roberson?
Name Census estimates that about 62,655 living Americans carry the surname Roberson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,471 residents.
How common is Roberson?
Roberson ranks #599 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 18.28 per 100,000 residents, which is about 18 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 54,638 people with the surname Roberson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (62,655), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 18.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 18.28 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 18 of them to have the surname Roberson.
Has Roberson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Roberson went from 56,180 recorded bearers to 54,638. That is a decrease of 1,542 (-2.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #605 to #599.
What does the Census say about the background of Roberson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Roberson, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.6%. The next largest groups are Black (42.0%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Roberson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.6% (26,565 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Roberson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (48.6%), Black (42.0%), Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Roberson (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 Roberson mean?
Son of Robert, an English patronymic surname derived from the given name Robert. 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 Roberson (18.28 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 Americans have the surname Roberson?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.