2000
#10,688
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,744
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.02
Rare Last name
Rockwood
A locational surname referring to someone living near a rocky forest or wooded area with rocky ground.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,194 Americans carry the last name Rockwood. That puts it at #10,926 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.93 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 107,312 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rockwood 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
3.2K
1 in 107,312
Census rank
#10,926
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,785 bearers of the surname Rockwood in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.93 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10926th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rockwood, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rockwood
The surname Rockwood originated in England and dates back to the 13th century. It is a locational name derived from the Old English words "rocc" meaning rock and "wudu" meaning wood, referring to someone who lived near a rocky wooded area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Rockwood surname is found in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1277, where it appears as "Rokewode". The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also mention a "Rokewode" in Oxfordshire.
In the 14th century, the surname is documented in various records, including the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1332, where it appears as "Rokwode". The Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire in 1379 list a "Johannes Rokwode".
The Rockwood surname was also associated with several place names in England, such as Rockwood in Shropshire and Rockwood in Staffordshire. These place names likely influenced the spelling variations of the surname over time.
Notable individuals with the Rockwood surname throughout history include:
1. Sir Robert Rockwood (1590-1651), an English Royalist during the English Civil War.
2. Caleb Rockwood (1707-1782), an American soldier who fought in the French and Indian War.
3. John Rockwood (1720-1806), an American farmer and Revolutionary War soldier from Massachusetts.
4. Alphonso Rockwood (1833-1911), an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives.
5. George Gardner Rockwood (1832-1911), an American Civil War officer and businessman from Massachusetts.
As the centuries passed, the Rockwood surname continued to be found in various regions of England, eventually spreading to other parts of the world through migration and immigration.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rockwood
Among Census respondents with the surname Rockwood, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Rockwood 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 Rockwood surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.7% · 2,442
- Two or more races4.0% · 111
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 106
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 58
- Black or African American1.6% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 24
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rockwood
Rockwood 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
#11,051
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,877
+133 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.98
Rank movement Down 363 places
2020
#10,926
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,785
-92 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Up 125 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,688 | 2,744 | 1.02 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,051 | 2,877 | 0.98 | +133 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 363 places |
| 2020 | #10,926 | 2,785 | 0.93 | -92 bearers (-3.2%) | Up 125 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 Rockwood 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 | #11,051 | #10,926 | 1.1% |
| Count | 2,877 | 2,785 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.98 | 0.93 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rockwood bearers went from 2,877 to 2,785 (-3.2% change). The surname moved up 125 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,051 to #10,926.
FAQ
Rockwood surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rockwood?
Name Census estimates that about 3,194 living Americans carry the surname Rockwood. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 107,312 residents.
How common is Rockwood?
Rockwood ranks #10,926 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.93 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,785 people with the surname Rockwood. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,194), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.93 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.93 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Rockwood.
Has Rockwood become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rockwood went from 2,877 recorded bearers to 2,785. That is a decrease of 92 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,051 to #10,926.
What does the Census say about the background of Rockwood?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rockwood, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Rockwood in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.7% (2,442 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rockwood appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.7%), Two or More Races (4.0%), Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Rockwood (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 Rockwood mean?
A locational surname referring to someone living near a rocky forest or wooded area with rocky ground. 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 Rockwood (0.93 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 Rockwood?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.