2000
#1,093
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,316
First available Census row
Per 100,000 10.87
Uncommon Last name
Tracy
An occupational surname referring to a person who harvests or processes thatch for roofing.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 32,293 Americans carry the last name Tracy. That puts it at #1,227 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 9.42 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 10,614 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tracy 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 Tracy with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
32K
1 in 10,614
Census rank
#1,227
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
9.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
28K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 28,161 bearers of the surname Tracy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 9.42 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1227th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tracy, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tracy
The surname Tracy is of Norman French origin, deriving from the French town of Trassé in Normandy. It first emerged in England following the Norman Conquest of 1066, when many Norman families settled in various regions of the country.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Traci" and "Tracey". These entries likely refer to individuals who hailed from the town of Trassé or its surrounding areas.
In the 12th century, the name was often spelled as "Tracey" or "Tracye". During this period, it was particularly prevalent in the counties of Gloucestershire and Somerset, where several notable families bore this surname.
One of the most prominent figures bearing the Tracy name was William de Tracy, a Norman knight who was one of the four assassins of Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1170. This event garnered significant historical attention and cemented the Tracy name in the annals of English history.
In the 13th century, the name also took on the form "Tracy" or "Tracy", reflecting the evolving spelling conventions of the time. One notable bearer of this variant was Henry de Tracy, who served as Lord Chancellor of England from 1265 to 1267.
During the late Middle Ages, the Tracy family established themselves as landed gentry in various parts of England, including Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Devonshire. The town of Toddington in Gloucestershire was once the seat of the ancient Tracy family, and the nearby village of Tracy derived its name from them.
Other notable individuals with the surname Tracy include:
1. Ursula Tracy (c. 1555-1609), an English noblewoman and Catholic recusant.
2. Sir John Tracy (1557-1637), an English politician and landowner.
3. Robert Tracy (1655-1735), an English philosopher and Anglican priest.
4. Nathaniel Tracy (1751-1796), an American military officer who served in the Revolutionary War.
5. Benjamin Franklin Tracy (1830-1915), an American lawyer and politician who served as Secretary of the Navy under President Benjamin Harrison.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tracy
Among Census respondents with the surname Tracy, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Tracy 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 Tracy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.2% · 24,833
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 1,059
- Two or more races3.4% · 946
- Black or African American2.6% · 741
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 355
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 227
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tracy
Tracy 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
#1,180
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,867
+551 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 10.13
Rank movement Down 87 places
2020
#1,227
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 28,161
-1,706 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 9.42
Rank movement Down 47 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,093 | 29,316 | 10.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,180 | 29,867 | 10.13 | +551 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 87 places |
| 2020 | #1,227 | 28,161 | 9.42 | -1,706 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 47 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 Tracy 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 | #1,180 | #1,227 | -4.0% |
| Count | 29,867 | 28,161 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 10.13 | 9.42 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tracy bearers went from 29,867 to 28,161 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 47 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,180 to #1,227.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Tracy
FAQ
Tracy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tracy?
Name Census estimates that about 32,293 living Americans carry the surname Tracy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 10,614 residents.
How common is Tracy?
Tracy ranks #1,227 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 9.42 per 100,000 residents, which is about 9 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 28,161 people with the surname Tracy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (32,293), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 9.42 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 9.42 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 9 of them to have the surname Tracy.
Has Tracy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tracy went from 29,867 recorded bearers to 28,161. That is a decrease of 1,706 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,180 to #1,227.
What does the Census say about the background of Tracy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tracy, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) 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 Tracy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.2% (24,833 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tracy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.2%), Hispanic (3.8%), 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 Tracy (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 Tracy mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who harvests or processes thatch for roofing. 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 Tracy (9.42 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 last name Tracy?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Tracy at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.