2000
#2,737
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,099
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.49
Uncommon Last name
Rockwell
Derived from a place name meaning "stream by a rocky spring" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,559 Americans carry the last name Rockwell. That puts it at #2,972 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.96 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 25,279 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rockwell 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.
Bearers in the US
14K
1 in 25,279
Census rank
#2,972
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,824 bearers of the surname Rockwell in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.96 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2972nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rockwell, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Black (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rockwell
The surname Rockwell originated in England and dates back to the late 11th century. It is an occupational name derived from the Old English words "rocca" meaning a distaff or rock, and "well" meaning a spring or stream. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a rocky stream or spring.
One of the earliest recordings of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Rocawella. Other early spellings include Rokewelle, Rockwelle, and Rokkewell. The name was particularly prevalent in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex in eastern England.
In the 13th century, a Robert de Rokewelle was recorded as a landowner in the county of Norfolk. The Rockwell family continued to hold lands and estates in this region for several centuries.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Rockwell began to spread beyond East Anglia as people migrated to other parts of England and eventually to the American colonies. One notable bearer of the name was Sir Ralph Rockwell (1512-1578), a member of Parliament and influential figure during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
In the 18th century, the American Revolutionary War saw several individuals named Rockwell serving in the Continental Army, including Colonel Samuel Rockwell (1751-1793) who fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Battle of Trenton.
Other notable individuals with the surname Rockwell include the American painter Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), famous for his illustrations of American culture, and the entrepreneur and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937), founder of the Standard Oil Company and one of the wealthiest Americans in history.
The name Rockwell has also been associated with various place names, such as Rockwell Green in Somerset, England, and the town of Rockwell, Iowa, named after the Rockwell family who were among its earliest settlers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rockwell
Among Census respondents with the surname Rockwell, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Black (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Rockwell 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 Rockwell surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.3% · 10,318
- Black or African American4.0% · 473
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 421
- Two or more races3.2% · 377
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 118
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 117
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rockwell
Rockwell 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
#2,902
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,360
+261 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 4.19
Rank movement Down 165 places
2020
#2,972
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,824
-536 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 3.96
Rank movement Down 70 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,737 | 12,099 | 4.49 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,902 | 12,360 | 4.19 | +261 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 165 places |
| 2020 | #2,972 | 11,824 | 3.96 | -536 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 70 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 Rockwell 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 | #2,902 | #2,972 | -2.4% |
| Count | 12,360 | 11,824 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 4.19 | 3.96 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rockwell bearers went from 12,360 to 11,824 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 70 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,902 to #2,972.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Rockwell
FAQ
Rockwell surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rockwell?
Name Census estimates that about 13,559 living Americans carry the surname Rockwell. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 25,279 residents.
How common is Rockwell?
Rockwell ranks #2,972 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.96 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,824 people with the surname Rockwell. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,559), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.96 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.96 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Rockwell.
Has Rockwell become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rockwell went from 12,360 recorded bearers to 11,824. That is a decrease of 536 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,902 to #2,972.
What does the Census say about the background of Rockwell?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rockwell, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Black (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Rockwell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.3% (10,318 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rockwell appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.3%), Black (4.0%), Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Rockwell (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 Rockwell mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "stream by a rocky spring" 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 Rockwell (3.96 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 Rockwell?
Want to know how common the surname Rockwell is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.