2000
#2,375
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,991
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.19
Uncommon Last name
Salter
An occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of salt.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,870 Americans carry the last name Salter. That puts it at #2,544 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 21,598 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Salter 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 Salter with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
16K
1 in 21,598
Census rank
#2,544
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,839 bearers of the surname Salter in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2544th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Salter, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.5%. The next largest groups are Black (24.7%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Salter
The surname Salter is derived from the Old English word "salter" which referred to a worker in salt, either as a maker or seller of salt. It originated in England during the medieval period, primarily in areas where there were salt mines or salt production centers.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Salter can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. This document mentions several individuals with the surname Salter or similar spellings like "Saltor" or "Saltere."
The name Salter was particularly prevalent in counties like Cheshire, Staffordshire, and Worcestershire, where salt production was an important industry. Some early examples include John le Salter, who was documented in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1272, and William le Salter, who was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327.
Salter is also associated with various place names in England, such as Salters Hill in Derbyshire, Salters Lane in Oxfordshire, and Salters Brook in Staffordshire. These toponyms suggest that the name may have originated from individuals who lived or worked near areas related to salt production.
Notable historical figures with the surname Salter include Sir Nicholas Salter (c.1505-1586), who was a member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of London in 1590. Another notable Salter was John Salter (1577-1642), an English clergyman and author who wrote several religious works.
Other prominent individuals with this surname include Samuel Salter (1604-1670), one of the founders of the town of Windsor, Connecticut, in the American colonies, and James Salter (1925-2015), an American writer and novelist best known for his works such as "A Sport and a Pastime" and "Light Years."
The surname Salter has also been borne by several artists and musicians, including Mary Jo Salter (born 1954), an American poet and academic, and Sly Salter (born 1987), an American rapper and songwriter.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Salter
Among Census respondents with the surname Salter, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.5%. The next largest groups are Black (24.7%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Salter 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 Salter surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.5% · 9,338
- Black or African American24.7% · 3,418
- Two or more races4.0% · 547
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 393
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 76
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 67
Timeline
Historical Census data for Salter
Salter 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
#2,462
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,641
+650 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 4.96
Rank movement Down 87 places
2020
#2,544
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,839
-802 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 4.63
Rank movement Down 82 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,375 | 13,991 | 5.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,462 | 14,641 | 4.96 | +650 bearers (+4.6%) | Down 87 places |
| 2020 | #2,544 | 13,839 | 4.63 | -802 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 82 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 Salter 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 | #2,462 | #2,544 | -3.3% |
| Count | 14,641 | 13,839 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 4.96 | 4.63 | -6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Salter bearers went from 14,641 to 13,839 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 82 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,462 to #2,544.
FAQ
Salter surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Salter?
Name Census estimates that about 15,870 living Americans carry the surname Salter. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 21,598 residents.
How common is Salter?
Salter ranks #2,544 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.63 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,839 people with the surname Salter. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,870), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.63 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Salter.
Has Salter become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Salter went from 14,641 recorded bearers to 13,839. That is a decrease of 802 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,462 to #2,544.
What does the Census say about the background of Salter?
Among Census respondents with the surname Salter, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.5%. The next largest groups are Black (24.7%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Salter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.5% (9,338 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Salter appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (67.5%), Black (24.7%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Salter (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 Salter mean?
An occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of salt. 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 Salter (4.63 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 last name Salter?
You can see how common the surname Salter is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.