2000
#2,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,630
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.05
Uncommon Last name
Upton
Derived from a place name meaning "upper town" in Old English, referring to a settlement on higher ground.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,164 Americans carry the last name Upton. That puts it at #2,662 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.42 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 22,603 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Upton 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 Upton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
15K
1 in 22,603
Census rank
#2,662
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,224 bearers of the surname Upton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.42 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2662nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Upton, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.8%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Upton
The surname Upton has its origins in England, dating back to the 11th century. It is a locational name derived from various places called Upton, a common place name in England that means "upper town" or "higher town." The name is derived from the Old English words "upp" meaning up or higher, and "tun" meaning a settlement or town.
The Upton surname is believed to have first appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive record of landowners and their holdings across England and parts of Wales. This early record suggests that the name was already well-established in various regions of the country by the late 11th century.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Upton surname was Robert de Upton, who was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Worcestershire in 1190. Another early reference is found in the Curia Regis Rolls of Norfolk in 1199, which mentions William de Upton.
In the 13th century, there are records of a Richard de Upton, who was a prominent landowner in Warwickshire, and a John de Upton, who served as a Justice of the Peace in Oxfordshire in 1285.
The surname Upton has also been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. Sir Nicholas Upton (c. 1400-1457) was an English writer and clergyman who authored a treatise on heraldry called "De Studio Militari." John Upton (1711-1760) was an English schoolmaster and classical scholar who wrote extensively on ancient Greek and Roman literature.
Another notable figure was James Upton (1670-1749), an English theologian and scholar who served as the Regius Professor of Hebrew at the University of Oxford. Sir James Upton (1796-1878) was a British Army officer who served in the Peninsular War and the Crimean War, and was knighted for his military service.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the Upton surname was John Upton, who was born in England and settled in Virginia in the 17th century. Several members of the Upton family played significant roles in the American Revolutionary War, including Colonel John Upton, who fought at the Battle of Monmouth in 1778.
The surname Upton has also been associated with various place names and older spellings of place names. For example, the village of Upton-upon-Severn in Worcestershire, England, was formerly known as Upton Episcopi, reflecting its connection to the Bishop of Worcester. Similarly, the town of Upton in Berkshire was once called Upton Regis, meaning "Upton of the King."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Upton
Among Census respondents with the surname Upton, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.8%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Upton 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 Upton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.7% · 11,199
- Black or African American5.8% · 766
- Two or more races4.5% · 593
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 455
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 125
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 86
Timeline
Historical Census data for Upton
Upton 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
#2,616
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,769
+139 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 4.67
Rank movement Down 184 places
2020
#2,662
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,224
-545 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 4.42
Rank movement Down 46 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,432 | 13,630 | 5.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,616 | 13,769 | 4.67 | +139 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 184 places |
| 2020 | #2,662 | 13,224 | 4.42 | -545 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 46 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 Upton 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 | #2,616 | #2,662 | -1.8% |
| Count | 13,769 | 13,224 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 4.67 | 4.42 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Upton bearers went from 13,769 to 13,224 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 46 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,616 to #2,662.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Upton
FAQ
Upton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Upton?
Name Census estimates that about 15,164 living Americans carry the surname Upton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 22,603 residents.
How common is Upton?
Upton ranks #2,662 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.42 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,224 people with the surname Upton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,164), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.42 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.42 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Upton.
Has Upton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Upton went from 13,769 recorded bearers to 13,224. That is a decrease of 545 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,616 to #2,662.
What does the Census say about the background of Upton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Upton, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.8%) 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 Upton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.7% (11,199 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Upton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.7%), Black (5.8%), 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 Upton (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 Upton mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "upper town" in Old English, referring to a settlement on higher ground. 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 Upton (4.42 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 surname Upton?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.