2000
#12,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,271
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.84
Rare Last name
Scranton
A locational surname referring to someone from the town of Scranton in Lancashire, England, or Pennsylvania, United States.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,564 Americans carry the last name Scranton. That puts it at #13,123 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 133,680 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Scranton 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
2.6K
1 in 133,680
Census rank
#13,123
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,236 bearers of the surname Scranton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13123rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Scranton, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Black (12.2%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Scranton
The surname Scranton has its origins in England, where it first appeared in the early 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "scra" and "tun," meaning a small village or farm located on a steep slope or cliff.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Scranton can be found in the Feet of Fines records for Yorkshire in 1246, where a certain William de Scrantun is mentioned. This suggests that the name may have originated from a specific place called Scrantun, likely a small settlement in Yorkshire.
By the 14th century, the name had evolved into various spellings such as Scraunton, Scrawntun, and Scrantone. In the Subsidy Rolls for Yorkshire in 1327, a John de Scrawntun is listed as a taxpayer.
The Scranton surname is also closely associated with the town of Scranton in Nottinghamshire, England. The town's name is believed to have derived from the same Old English roots as the surname, and it is possible that some early bearers of the name may have hailed from this location.
One notable individual with the Scranton surname was Sir John Scranton (1570-1629), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Nottinghamshire in the early 17th century.
Another prominent figure was George Scranton (1811-1861), an American businessman and politician who founded the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1840. The city was named in honor of his family's ancestral hometown in Nottinghamshire.
In the late 18th century, a branch of the Scranton family emigrated from England to America, where they settled in various parts of New England and Pennsylvania. One notable descendant was Silas Scranton (1791-1872), a businessman and landowner in Pennsylvania who helped establish the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company.
Another illustrious bearer of the Scranton name was William Walker Scranton (1917-2013), a prominent American politician who served as the 38th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1967.
Throughout its history, the surname Scranton has maintained a strong connection to its English roots, reflecting the early settlers who brought the name to various parts of the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Scranton
Among Census respondents with the surname Scranton, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Black (12.2%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Scranton 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 Scranton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.2% · 1,794
- Black or African American12.2% · 272
- Two or more races3.4% · 77
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 67
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Scranton
Scranton 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
#13,010
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,359
+88 bearers (+3.9%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 499 places
2020
#13,123
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,236
-123 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 113 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,511 | 2,271 | 0.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,010 | 2,359 | 0.80 | +88 bearers (+3.9%) | Down 499 places |
| 2020 | #13,123 | 2,236 | 0.75 | -123 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 113 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 Scranton 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 | #13,010 | #13,123 | -0.9% |
| Count | 2,359 | 2,236 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.75 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Scranton bearers went from 2,359 to 2,236 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 113 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,010 to #13,123.
FAQ
Scranton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Scranton?
Name Census estimates that about 2,564 living Americans carry the surname Scranton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 133,680 residents.
How common is Scranton?
Scranton ranks #13,123 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 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 2,236 people with the surname Scranton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,564), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 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 Scranton.
Has Scranton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Scranton went from 2,359 recorded bearers to 2,236. That is a decrease of 123 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,010 to #13,123.
What does the Census say about the background of Scranton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Scranton, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Black (12.2%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Scranton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.2% (1,794 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Scranton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.2%), Black (12.2%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Scranton (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 Scranton mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from the town of Scranton in Lancashire, England, or Pennsylvania, United States. 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 Scranton (0.75 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 Scranton?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.