2000
#41,995
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 487
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.18
Very Rare Last name
Simkin
A diminutive form of the given name Simon.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 607 Americans carry the last name Simkin. That puts it at #43,886 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 564,669 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Simkin 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 Simkin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
607
1 in 564,669
Census rank
#43,886
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
529
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 529 bearers of the surname Simkin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 43886th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Simkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Simkin
The surname Simkin is of English origin and derives from the medieval personal name Simkin, which was a diminutive form of the name Simon. It is believed to have originated in the late 12th or early 13th century, particularly in the counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire.
Simkin was a common nickname used in medieval times, often stemming from the biblical name Simon. It was sometimes spelled as Symkyn or Simekyn in early records. One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname is found in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1297, which mentions a William Simkyn.
In the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1279, there is a reference to a John Simekyn, while the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1301 list a Thomas Simkyn. These early records suggest that the name was well-established in various parts of England by the late 13th and early 14th centuries.
The Simkin surname can also be traced back to place names like Simkin Field in Yorkshire and Simkin's Cross in Derbyshire. These place names likely derived from individuals with the surname Simkin who lived or owned land in those areas.
Notable historical figures with the surname Simkin include:
1. John Simkin (c. 1315-1389), an English clergyman and scholar who served as the Chancellor of the University of Oxford.
2. William Simkin (c. 1450-1520), a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of York during the 16th century.
3. Thomas Simkin (c. 1520-1592), an English landowner and Member of Parliament for Maldon in Essex during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
4. Elizabeth Simkin (c. 1605-1672), a English Puritan writer and religious activist who published several works on spiritual matters.
5. Richard Simkin (c. 1670-1738), a renowned architect and stonemason who worked on numerous churches and buildings in the county of Gloucestershire.
While the Simkin surname is not as common today as it once was, it remains an integral part of English genealogical history, with its roots tracing back to the medieval era and the widespread use of diminutive nicknames derived from biblical names.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Simkin
Among Census respondents with the surname Simkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Simkin 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 Simkin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 489
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 19
- Two or more races1.9% · 10
- Black or African American1.7% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Simkin
Simkin 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
#41,038
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 531
+44 bearers (+9.0%)
Per 100,000 0.18
Rank movement Up 957 places
2020
#43,886
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 529
-2 bearers (-0.4%)
Per 100,000 0.18
Rank movement Down 2,848 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #41,995 | 487 | 0.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #41,038 | 531 | 0.18 | +44 bearers (+9.0%) | Up 957 places |
| 2020 | #43,886 | 529 | 0.18 | -2 bearers (-0.4%) | Down 2,848 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 Simkin 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 | #41,038 | #43,886 | -6.9% |
| Count | 531 | 529 | -0.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.18 | 0.18 | -1.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Simkin bearers went from 531 to 529 (-0.4% change). The surname moved down 2,848 positions in the national ranking, going from #41,038 to #43,886.
FAQ
Simkin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Simkin?
Name Census estimates that about 607 living Americans carry the surname Simkin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 564,669 residents.
How common is Simkin?
Simkin ranks #43,886 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.18 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 529 people with the surname Simkin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (607), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.18 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Simkin.
Has Simkin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Simkin went from 531 recorded bearers to 529. That is a decrease of 2 (-0.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #41,038 to #43,886.
What does the Census say about the background of Simkin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Simkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Simkin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (489 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Simkin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Simkin (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 Simkin mean?
A diminutive form of the given name Simon. 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 Simkin (0.18 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 are called Simkin?
Want to know how many people are called Simkin? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.