2000
#5,447
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,878
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.18
Rare Last name
Trask
A surname of Cornish origin derived from the Old English elements meaning "trash" or "outcasts" and "ash tree."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,618 Americans carry the last name Trask. That puts it at #5,785 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.93 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 51,791 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Trask 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 Trask with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.6K
1 in 51,791
Census rank
#5,785
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,771 bearers of the surname Trask in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.93 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5785th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Trask, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.4%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Trask
The surname Trask is of English origin and dates back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word "trasc," which means "trash" or "fallen branch." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a nickname to someone who lived near or worked with fallen branches or discarded materials.
The earliest known record of the name dates back to 1273, where it appears as "William Trask" in the Hundred Rolls of Norfolk. During the Middle Ages, the name was primarily concentrated in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex in eastern England.
In the 16th century, the Trask surname began to spread to other parts of England, with records showing individuals bearing the name in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. One notable example is William Trask, a Puritan minister who was born in 1584 in Somersetshire and later emigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637.
The Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners in England compiled in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the Trask surname. However, it does mention several place names that may have influenced the development of the surname, such as Trescha and Treschet.
In the 17th century, the Trask surname gained prominence in New England, where several individuals with this name played significant roles in the region's history. One such person was Joseph Trask (1679-1759), a prominent landowner and judge in Hampton, New Hampshire.
Other notable individuals with the surname Trask include:
1. Benjamin Trask (1770-1831), an American merchant and shipowner from Salem, Massachusetts.
2. John Trask (1824-1879), an American philologist and linguist known for his work on the English language and its origins.
3. Blanche Trask (1881-1940), an American author and poet who wrote extensively about rural life in Maine.
4. Spencer Trask (1844-1909), an American banker and financier who co-founded the firm Trask & Baylies in New York City.
5. John Trask (1592-1672), an early Puritan settler in Massachusetts Bay Colony and one of the founders of the town of Beverly.
Throughout its history, the Trask surname has undergone various spelling variations, including Traske, Trast, Trasque, and Tresque. Additionally, some place names, such as Trask Island in Maine and Trask River in British Columbia, Canada, bear this surname, reflecting the geographical spread of individuals with this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Trask
Among Census respondents with the surname Trask, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.4%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Trask 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 Trask surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.7% · 5,005
- Black or African American5.4% · 312
- Two or more races3.7% · 212
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 166
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 55
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 21
Timeline
Historical Census data for Trask
Trask 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
#5,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,162
+284 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 2.09
Rank movement Down 192 places
2020
#5,785
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,771
-391 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 1.93
Rank movement Down 146 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,447 | 5,878 | 2.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,639 | 6,162 | 2.09 | +284 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 192 places |
| 2020 | #5,785 | 5,771 | 1.93 | -391 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 146 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 Trask 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 | #5,639 | #5,785 | -2.6% |
| Count | 6,162 | 5,771 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.09 | 1.93 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Trask bearers went from 6,162 to 5,771 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 146 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,639 to #5,785.
FAQ
Trask surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Trask?
Name Census estimates that about 6,618 living Americans carry the surname Trask. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 51,791 residents.
How common is Trask?
Trask ranks #5,785 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.93 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,771 people with the surname Trask. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,618), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.93 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.93 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Trask.
Has Trask become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Trask went from 6,162 recorded bearers to 5,771. That is a decrease of 391 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,639 to #5,785.
What does the Census say about the background of Trask?
Among Census respondents with the surname Trask, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.4%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Trask in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.7% (5,005 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Trask appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.7%), Black (5.4%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Trask (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 Trask mean?
A surname of Cornish origin derived from the Old English elements meaning "trash" or "outcasts" and "ash tree." 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 Trask (1.93 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 Trask?
You can see how many Americans have the surname Trask on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.