2000
#3,794
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,579
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.18
Rare Last name
Spring
An English topographic surname for someone who lived near a spring or a natural well.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,209 Americans carry the last name Spring. That puts it at #4,274 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 37,219 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Spring 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 Spring with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.2K
1 in 37,219
Census rank
#4,274
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,031 bearers of the surname Spring in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4274th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Spring, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Spring
The surname SPRING is of Anglo-Saxon origin, deriving from the Old English word "spring" meaning a source of water or a stream. It is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period, likely in areas with notable springs or streams.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the SPRING surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which documented landowners in England following the Norman Conquest. This suggests the name had already become established by the 11th century.
The surname may have also been occupational, referring to someone who lived near a spring or worked as a keeper or maintainer of a spring. Over time, the name evolved to become a hereditary surname passed down through generations.
In the 13th century, records show a Robert de la Sprynge in Somerset, England, in 1243. The "de la" prefix indicates the name was originally a locational surname, referring to someone from a place with a spring.
Notable individuals with the SPRING surname include Francis Spring (1701-1769), an English clergyman and academic who served as the President of Pembroke College, Oxford. Another was Gardiner Spring (1785-1873), an influential American Presbyterian minister and writer from Massachusetts.
In the 19th century, George Spring (1814-1895) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who participated in Arctic expeditions. His contemporary, Thomas Spring (1835-1909), was a British politician and Member of Parliament for East Suffolk.
One of the earliest recorded instances in Scotland is Archibald Spring (born around 1610), a merchant and magistrate in the town of Paisley. This suggests the surname had spread to other parts of the British Isles by the early modern period.
Throughout its history, the SPRING surname has maintained its connection to the natural feature of a spring or stream, reflecting the geographical origins and occupations of its earliest bearers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Spring
Among Census respondents with the surname Spring, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Spring 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 Spring surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.8% · 7,055
- Two or more races3.6% · 291
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 273
- Black or African American3.0% · 243
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 87
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 82
Timeline
Historical Census data for Spring
Spring 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
#4,053
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,757
+178 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 2.97
Rank movement Down 259 places
2020
#4,274
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,031
-726 bearers (-8.3%)
Per 100,000 2.69
Rank movement Down 221 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,794 | 8,579 | 3.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,053 | 8,757 | 2.97 | +178 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 259 places |
| 2020 | #4,274 | 8,031 | 2.69 | -726 bearers (-8.3%) | Down 221 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 Spring 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 | #4,053 | #4,274 | -5.5% |
| Count | 8,757 | 8,031 | -8.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.97 | 2.69 | -9.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Spring bearers went from 8,757 to 8,031 (-8.3% change). The surname moved down 221 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,053 to #4,274.
FAQ
Spring surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Spring?
Name Census estimates that about 9,209 living Americans carry the surname Spring. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 37,219 residents.
How common is Spring?
Spring ranks #4,274 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.69 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,031 people with the surname Spring. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,209), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.69 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Spring.
Has Spring become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Spring went from 8,757 recorded bearers to 8,031. That is a decrease of 726 (-8.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,053 to #4,274.
What does the Census say about the background of Spring?
Among Census respondents with the surname Spring, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (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 Spring in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.8% (7,055 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Spring appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.8%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (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 Spring (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 Spring mean?
An English topographic surname for someone who lived near a spring or a natural well. 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 Spring (2.69 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 Spring?
You can see how many people have the last name Spring on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.