2000
#4,065
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,046
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.98
Rare Last name
Tracey
An Irish occupational surname derived from the French word "traceur," meaning a path-maker or hunter.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,063 Americans carry the last name Tracey. That puts it at #4,343 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 37,819 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tracey 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 Tracey with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.1K
1 in 37,819
Census rank
#4,343
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,903 bearers of the surname Tracey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4343rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tracey, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tracey
The surname Tracey is of English origin, derived from the Old French place name "Tracy" or "Traci." This place name is thought to come from the Latin word "trajectus," meaning "crossing" or "ford." The name likely referred to someone who lived near a river crossing or ford.
The earliest recorded instances of the Tracey surname date back to the 11th century in Normandy, France. The name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. This suggests that the Tracey family was among the Norman nobility who accompanied William during the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the Tracey surname was Henry de Tracy, who lived in the late 11th century. He was a Norman nobleman and one of the four knights involved in the infamous murder of Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1170.
Another notable figure was William de Tracy, a 13th-century English nobleman and crusader. He participated in the Fifth and Sixth Crusades and was appointed as the Lord Deputy of Ireland in 1275.
In the 14th century, Sir John Tracey was a prominent English knight and military commander during the Hundred Years' War. He served under King Edward III and was appointed as the Constable of the Tower of London in 1338.
During the 16th century, Sir John Tracey was an English judge and politician who served as the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland from 1594 to 1598.
In the 17th century, Sir Robert Tracey was an English soldier and politician who fought for the Royalist cause during the English Civil War. He was born in 1592 and died in 1669.
The Tracey surname has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Tracey near Awliscombe in Devon, and Tracy-sur-Mer in Normandy, France. Variations in spelling include Tracy, Tracye, and Tracye.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tracey
Among Census respondents with the surname Tracey, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Tracey 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 Tracey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.4% · 6,357
- Black or African American10.5% · 831
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 256
- Two or more races2.8% · 224
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 162
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 73
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tracey
Tracey 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
#4,359
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,152
+106 bearers (+1.3%)
Per 100,000 2.76
Rank movement Down 294 places
2020
#4,343
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,903
-249 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 2.64
Rank movement Up 16 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,065 | 8,046 | 2.98 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,359 | 8,152 | 2.76 | +106 bearers (+1.3%) | Down 294 places |
| 2020 | #4,343 | 7,903 | 2.64 | -249 bearers (-3.1%) | Up 16 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 Tracey 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 | #4,359 | #4,343 | 0.4% |
| Count | 8,152 | 7,903 | -3.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.76 | 2.64 | -4.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tracey bearers went from 8,152 to 7,903 (-3.1% change). The surname moved up 16 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,359 to #4,343.
FAQ
Tracey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tracey?
Name Census estimates that about 9,063 living Americans carry the surname Tracey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 37,819 residents.
How common is Tracey?
Tracey ranks #4,343 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.64 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 7,903 people with the surname Tracey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,063), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.64 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 Tracey.
Has Tracey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tracey went from 8,152 recorded bearers to 7,903. That is a decrease of 249 (-3.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,359 to #4,343.
What does the Census say about the background of Tracey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tracey, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Tracey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.4% (6,357 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tracey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.4%), Black (10.5%), Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Tracey (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 Tracey mean?
An Irish occupational surname derived from the French word "traceur," meaning a path-maker or hunter. 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 Tracey (2.64 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 have the surname Tracey?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.