2000
#1,569
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,960
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.77
Uncommon Last name
Thorpe
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a village, hamlet, or secondary settlement.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 24,426 Americans carry the last name Thorpe. That puts it at #1,642 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 14,032 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Thorpe 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 Thorpe with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
24K
1 in 14,032
Census rank
#1,642
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
21K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 21,301 bearers of the surname Thorpe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1642nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Thorpe, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.8%. The next largest groups are Black (24.9%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Thorpe
The surname Thorpe originates from England and dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period. It is a toponymic name derived from the Old English word "þorp," which means a small village or hamlet. The name likely referred to someone who lived in or near a small settlement.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of landholdings in England, there are several references to places with names containing the element "Thorpe," such as Thorpe St. Peter in Norfolk and Thorpe-on-the-Hill in Lincolnshire. These early records indicate the widespread use of the name across various regions of England.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Thorpe can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, where a person named Robert de Thorp is mentioned. Another early bearer of the name was William de Thorpe, a 14th-century English judge and Chief Justice of the King's Bench.
Thorpe is also associated with several notable historical figures. Sir Edmund Thorpe (c. 1490-1558) was an English courtier and politician who served as Chief Clerk of the Household during the reign of Henry VIII. Robert Thorpe (1622-1672) was an English politician and member of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War.
In literature, the name is associated with the English poet and critic Thomas Thorpe (fl. 1600-1635), who is best known for publishing Shakespeare's sonnets in 1609. Another literary figure with this surname is the English novelist and children's writer Adam Thorpe (born 1956), known for his novels "Ulverton" and "Pieces of Light."
Other notable individuals with the surname Thorpe include the British artist and sculptor Sir Robert Thorpe (1765-1836), the English cricketer and footballer Frank Thorpe (1888-1971), and the American Olympic athlete Jim Thorpe (1887-1953), who was considered one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thorpe
Among Census respondents with the surname Thorpe, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.8%. The next largest groups are Black (24.9%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Thorpe 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 Thorpe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.8% · 14,013
- Black or African American24.9% · 5,308
- Two or more races4.5% · 950
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 775
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 139
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 116
Timeline
Historical Census data for Thorpe
Thorpe 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
#1,651
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,813
+853 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 7.39
Rank movement Down 82 places
2020
#1,642
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,301
-512 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 7.13
Rank movement Up 9 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,569 | 20,960 | 7.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,651 | 21,813 | 7.39 | +853 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 82 places |
| 2020 | #1,642 | 21,301 | 7.13 | -512 bearers (-2.3%) | Up 9 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 Thorpe 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 | #1,651 | #1,642 | 0.5% |
| Count | 21,813 | 21,301 | -2.3% |
| Per 100K | 7.39 | 7.13 | -3.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Thorpe bearers went from 21,813 to 21,301 (-2.3% change). The surname moved up 9 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,651 to #1,642.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Thorpe
FAQ
Thorpe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Thorpe?
Name Census estimates that about 24,426 living Americans carry the surname Thorpe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 14,032 residents.
How common is Thorpe?
Thorpe ranks #1,642 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.13 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 21,301 people with the surname Thorpe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (24,426), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.13 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Thorpe.
Has Thorpe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Thorpe went from 21,813 recorded bearers to 21,301. That is a decrease of 512 (-2.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,651 to #1,642.
What does the Census say about the background of Thorpe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Thorpe, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.8%. The next largest groups are Black (24.9%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Thorpe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.8% (14,013 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Thorpe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (65.8%), Black (24.9%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Thorpe (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 Thorpe mean?
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a village, hamlet, or secondary settlement. 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 Thorpe (7.13 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 share the surname Thorpe?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.