2000
#9,154
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,277
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.21
Rare Last name
Varnado
Derived from a French place name meaning "alder grove," likely referring to someone who lived near alder trees.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,972 Americans carry the last name Varnado. That puts it at #9,056 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 86,293 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Varnado 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.
Bearers in the US
4.0K
1 in 86,293
Census rank
#9,056
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,464 bearers of the surname Varnado in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9056th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Varnado, the largest self-reported group is Black at 49.7%. The next largest groups are White (42.4%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Varnado
The surname Varnado originated in France and is believed to have derived from a place name, specifically a town or village called Varnado or a similar spelling variant. It likely emerged sometime during the medieval period, though the exact timeframe is uncertain.
In its earliest forms, the surname may have been spelled Varnadeau, Varnadot, or Varnadeaux, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions of the time. These alternate spellings suggest the name's roots may lie in an Old French word or phrase, though its precise etymology remains unclear.
While no definitive historical references to the Varnado surname have been found in major records like the Domesday Book, some of the earliest known examples of the name appear in French parish records and court documents from the 16th and 17th centuries. These early records often spelled the name in its older forms, such as Varnadeau or Varnadot.
One of the earliest known individuals with the Varnado surname was Jean Varnado, born in the village of Varnado, Normandy, in 1612. Another notable early bearer of the name was Pierre Varnadeau, a merchant from Paris who lived from 1650 to 1724.
In the 19th century, there are records of a French composer named Émile Varnado, who was born in 1824 and whose works were performed in Paris and other major cities. Around the same time, a French painter named Lucien Varnado, born in 1832, gained recognition for his landscape paintings.
Another individual of note was Jacques Varnado, a French explorer who accompanied several expeditions to the Americas in the late 17th century. He is believed to have been among the first Europeans to document the existence of certain Native American tribes in what is now the southeastern United States.
While the Varnado surname is relatively uncommon globally, it has maintained a presence in France and other parts of Europe, as well as in areas with significant French immigration, such as parts of North America and the Caribbean.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Varnado
Among Census respondents with the surname Varnado, the largest self-reported group is Black at 49.7%. The next largest groups are White (42.4%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Varnado 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 Varnado surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American49.7% · 1,720
- White42.4% · 1,468
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 125
- Two or more races3.6% · 124
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Varnado
Varnado 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
#9,085
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,597
+320 bearers (+9.8%)
Per 100,000 1.22
Rank movement Up 69 places
2020
#9,056
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,464
-133 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 1.16
Rank movement Up 29 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,154 | 3,277 | 1.21 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,085 | 3,597 | 1.22 | +320 bearers (+9.8%) | Up 69 places |
| 2020 | #9,056 | 3,464 | 1.16 | -133 bearers (-3.7%) | Up 29 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 Varnado 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 | #9,085 | #9,056 | 0.3% |
| Count | 3,597 | 3,464 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.22 | 1.16 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Varnado bearers went from 3,597 to 3,464 (-3.7% change). The surname moved up 29 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,085 to #9,056.
FAQ
Varnado surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Varnado?
Name Census estimates that about 3,972 living Americans carry the surname Varnado. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 86,293 residents.
How common is Varnado?
Varnado ranks #9,056 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.16 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,464 people with the surname Varnado. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,972), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.16 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Varnado.
Has Varnado become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Varnado went from 3,597 recorded bearers to 3,464. That is a decrease of 133 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,085 to #9,056.
What does the Census say about the background of Varnado?
Among Census respondents with the surname Varnado, the largest self-reported group is Black at 49.7%. The next largest groups are White (42.4%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Varnado in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.7% (1,720 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Varnado appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (49.7%), White (42.4%), Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Varnado (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 Varnado mean?
Derived from a French place name meaning "alder grove," likely referring to someone who lived near alder trees. 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 Varnado (1.16 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 are called Varnado?
Want to know how many people have the surname Varnado? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.