2000
#5,123
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,285
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.33
Rare Last name
Rounds
An English occupational surname for a maker or seller of round objects, or a person of rotund build.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,130 Americans carry the last name Rounds. That puts it at #5,416 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 48,072 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rounds 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 Rounds with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.1K
1 in 48,072
Census rank
#5,416
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,218 bearers of the surname Rounds in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5416th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rounds, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Black (14.0%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rounds
The surname Rounds is of English origin and dates back to the late 12th century. It is a locational name derived from the Old English word "rund", meaning a rounded hill or ring-shaped enclosure. The name was initially used to identify people who lived near such geographical features.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Rounds can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Worcestershire from the year 1206, where a certain Richard de la Runde was mentioned. The name was also present in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, with a reference to William atte Rounde.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the name Rounds appeared in various spellings, such as Rounde, Rownde, and Rownd, reflecting the regional dialects and scribal variations of the time. It was often associated with place names like Round Green in Suffolk or Round Ackers in Wiltshire.
One notable bearer of the Rounds surname was John Rounds (c. 1584-1670), an early English settler in New England who arrived in Massachusetts in 1635. He was one of the founders of the town of Charlestown and served as a deacon in the local church.
Another individual of historical significance was Samuel Rounds (1744-1842), an American Revolutionary War soldier from Massachusetts. He fought in several major battles, including the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Battle of Saratoga.
In the literary world, William Michael Rossetti Rounds (1815-1864) was a British poet and author who published works such as "Hymns for the Seasons" and "Nursery Songs and Stories" under the pseudonym W.M.R. Rounds.
The Rounds surname also has connections to the world of science and exploration. John Rounds (1784-1846) was an English naturalist and explorer who accompanied Sir John Franklin on his Arctic expeditions in the early 19th century.
Finally, Charles Rounds (1837-1905) was an American businessman and politician from Wisconsin who served as the 17th Governor of the state from 1901 to 1903.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rounds
Among Census respondents with the surname Rounds, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Black (14.0%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Rounds 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 Rounds surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.7% · 4,829
- Black or African American14.0% · 868
- Two or more races3.7% · 232
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 211
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 46
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 32
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rounds
Rounds 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
#5,400
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,447
+162 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 2.19
Rank movement Down 277 places
2020
#5,416
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,218
-229 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 2.08
Rank movement Down 16 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,123 | 6,285 | 2.33 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,400 | 6,447 | 2.19 | +162 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 277 places |
| 2020 | #5,416 | 6,218 | 2.08 | -229 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 16 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 Rounds 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 | #5,400 | #5,416 | -0.3% |
| Count | 6,447 | 6,218 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.19 | 2.08 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rounds bearers went from 6,447 to 6,218 (-3.6% change). The surname moved down 16 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,400 to #5,416.
FAQ
Rounds surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rounds?
Name Census estimates that about 7,130 living Americans carry the surname Rounds. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 48,072 residents.
How common is Rounds?
Rounds ranks #5,416 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.08 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,218 people with the surname Rounds. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,130), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.08 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Rounds.
Has Rounds become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rounds went from 6,447 recorded bearers to 6,218. That is a decrease of 229 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,400 to #5,416.
What does the Census say about the background of Rounds?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rounds, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Black (14.0%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Rounds in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.7% (4,829 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rounds appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.7%), Black (14.0%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Rounds (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 Rounds mean?
An English occupational surname for a maker or seller of round objects, or a person of rotund build. 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 Rounds (2.08 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 common is the surname Rounds?
Want to know how many people have the surname Rounds? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.