2000
#36
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 420,091
First available Census row
Per 100,000 155.73
Common Last name
Scott
An English and Scottish ethnic surname referring to a person from Scotland or of Scottish descent.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 483,344 Americans carry the last name Scott. That puts it at #40 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 141.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 709 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Scott 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 Scott with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
483K
1 in 709
Census rank
#40
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
141.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
421K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 421,499 bearers of the surname Scott in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 141.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 40th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Scott, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.7%. The next largest groups are Black (32.1%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Scott
The surname Scott is of Scottish origin and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from an old word "Scot" which was used to refer to a person of Scottish descent or someone from Scotland. The name likely originated from the areas along the Anglo-Scottish border regions.
One of the earliest recorded references to the surname Scott can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of homage rolls rendered to King Edward I of England. Several individuals bearing the name Scott are listed in these rolls, indicating the name was well-established in Scotland by the late 13th century.
The name Scott is also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. However, the spellings in this ancient manuscript vary, with forms such as "Scot" and "Scotte" being used.
In the 14th century, a prominent Scottish family bearing the name Scott emerged in the Borders region. Sir Michael Scott, who lived from around 1175 to 1234, was a renowned medieval scholar and philosopher. He was often referred to as "Michael Scot" and is considered one of the most influential figures in the transmission of knowledge from the Arabic world to Europe during the Middle Ages.
Another notable figure with the surname Scott was Sir Walter Scott, the famous Scottish novelist, playwright, and poet. Born in 1771 and died in 1832, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers of the Romantic era and is best known for his historical novels such as "Ivanhoe" and "Rob Roy".
In the 16th century, the Scotts of Buccleuch rose to prominence as one of the most powerful families in the Scottish Borders. Sir Walter Scott, 1st Lord Scott of Buccleuch, who lived from 1565 to 1611, played a significant role in the pacification of the Borders region and was a prominent figure in the court of King James VI of Scotland.
The surname Scott has also been associated with several place names in Scotland, such as Scotstoun, Scotston, and Scotscraig, which further reinforces its Scottish roots and origins.
Other notable individuals with the surname Scott include Robert Falcon Scott, the British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition to the South Pole in 1912, and Winfield Scott, an American military commander and political candidate who served as a general in the United States Army during the Mexican-American War and the Civil War.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Scott
Among Census respondents with the surname Scott, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.7%. The next largest groups are Black (32.1%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Scott 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 Scott surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.7% · 243,029
- Black or African American32.1% · 135,108
- Two or more races4.9% · 20,632
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 15,458
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 4,598
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 2,674
Timeline
Historical Census data for Scott
Scott 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
#36
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 439,530
+19,439 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 149.00
Rank movement No rank change
2020
#40
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 421,499
-18,031 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 141.02
Rank movement Down 4 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #36 | 420,091 | 155.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #36 | 439,530 | 149.00 | +19,439 bearers (+4.6%) | No rank change |
| 2020 | #40 | 421,499 | 141.02 | -18,031 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 4 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 Scott 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 | #36 | #40 | -11.1% |
| Count | 439,530 | 421,499 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 149.00 | 141.02 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Scott bearers went from 439,530 to 421,499 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 4 positions in the national ranking, going from #36 to #40.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Scott
FAQ
Scott surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Scott?
Name Census estimates that about 483,344 living Americans carry the surname Scott. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 709 residents.
How common is Scott?
Scott ranks #40 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 141.02 per 100,000 residents, which is about 141 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 421,499 people with the surname Scott. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (483,344), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 141.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 141.02 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 141 of them to have the surname Scott.
Has Scott become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Scott went from 439,530 recorded bearers to 421,499. That is a decrease of 18,031 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #36 to #40.
What does the Census say about the background of Scott?
Among Census respondents with the surname Scott, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.7%. The next largest groups are Black (32.1%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Scott in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.7% (243,029 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Scott appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (57.7%), Black (32.1%), Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Scott (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 Scott mean?
An English and Scottish ethnic surname referring to a person from Scotland or of Scottish descent. 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 Scott (141.02 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 Scott?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Scott on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.