2000
#1,641
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,001
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.41
Uncommon Last name
Root
An English occupational surname referring to someone who lived near or worked with plants and trees.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 22,362 Americans carry the last name Root. That puts it at #1,801 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.52 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 15,328 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Root 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 Root with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
22K
1 in 15,328
Census rank
#1,801
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
20K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 19,501 bearers of the surname Root in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.52 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1801st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Root, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Root
The surname Root has its origins in England, dating back to the 12th century. It is a locational name derived from places called Root, which were found in Northumberland and Yorkshire. The name comes from the Old English word 'rot', meaning a rooting or clearing in a forest.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are a few references to people with the name Root or similar spellings. For example, a man named Rot is listed as holding lands in Cambridgeshire, while another entry mentions a place called Rotinges in Suffolk.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Root dates back to 1275, when a Robert le Rote is mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire. Other early spellings include Rote, Rott, and Roote.
The surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Nottinghamshire. Some notable historical figures with the name Root include:
1. Thomas Root (c. 1605-1694), an early Puritan settler in Connecticut, considered one of the founders of the town of Farmington.
2. Jesse Root (1737-1822), an American minister and educator who served as the second president of Dartmouth College from 1793 to 1815.
3. Elihu Root (1845-1937), an American lawyer, statesman, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as the 38th United States Secretary of War and the 38th United States Secretary of State.
4. Charles Root (1863-1959), an American beekeeper and inventor who developed the Root Smoker and the Root Honey Extractor, which revolutionized beekeeping practices.
5. Waverley Root (1903-1982), an American writer, journalist, and scholar who specialized in food and wine. He wrote several books on French gastronomy and helped popularize French cuisine in the United States.
The surname Root has also been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Root Farm in Worcestershire, Root Hill in Nottinghamshire, and Root Town in Yorkshire.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Root
Among Census respondents with the surname Root, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Root 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 Root surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.6% · 17,665
- Two or more races3.8% · 736
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 567
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 250
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 145
- Black or African American0.7% · 138
Timeline
Historical Census data for Root
Root 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
#1,770
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,284
+283 bearers (+1.4%)
Per 100,000 6.88
Rank movement Down 129 places
2020
#1,801
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,501
-783 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 6.52
Rank movement Down 31 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,641 | 20,001 | 7.41 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,770 | 20,284 | 6.88 | +283 bearers (+1.4%) | Down 129 places |
| 2020 | #1,801 | 19,501 | 6.52 | -783 bearers (-3.9%) | Down 31 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 Root 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 | #1,770 | #1,801 | -1.8% |
| Count | 20,284 | 19,501 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 6.88 | 6.52 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Root bearers went from 20,284 to 19,501 (-3.9% change). The surname moved down 31 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,770 to #1,801.
FAQ
Root surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Root?
Name Census estimates that about 22,362 living Americans carry the surname Root. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 15,328 residents.
How common is Root?
Root ranks #1,801 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.52 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 19,501 people with the surname Root. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (22,362), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.52 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.52 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Root.
Has Root become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Root went from 20,284 recorded bearers to 19,501. That is a decrease of 783 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,770 to #1,801.
What does the Census say about the background of Root?
Among Census respondents with the surname Root, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Root in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (17,665 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Root appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.6%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Root (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 Root mean?
An English occupational surname referring to someone who lived near or worked with plants and trees. 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 Root (6.52 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 Root?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.