2000
#10,566
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,787
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.03
Rare Last name
Walkup
An English topographic surname for someone who lived near a path or walkway.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,057 Americans carry the last name Walkup. That puts it at #11,316 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.89 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 112,121 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Walkup 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
3.1K
1 in 112,121
Census rank
#11,316
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,666 bearers of the surname Walkup in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.89 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11316th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Walkup, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.9%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Walkup
The surname "WALKUP" is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "walc" meaning "a ridge or hill" and "up" meaning "on top of". It was likely first used as a descriptive surname for someone who lived on or near a ridge or hilltop.
The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century, with references found in medieval records such as the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, where it was spelled as "Walkoppe". Similar spellings like "Walkuppe" and "Walcupp" were also found in other records from that time period.
In the 14th century, the name was recorded in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield, Yorkshire, in 1348, as "Walkopp". This indicates that the name was well-established in various parts of England by that time.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Walkup, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Nottinghamshire in 1379. Another early record is that of William Walkup, who was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Staffordshire in 1327.
The name has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Walkup Hill in Derbyshire and Walkup Farm in Hampshire. These locations likely took their names from the surname or vice versa, reflecting the connection between the name and its geographical origins.
Notable individuals with the surname "WALKUP" throughout history include:
1. Thomas Walkup (c. 1630-1690), an early American settler who arrived in Virginia in the late 17th century and became a prominent landowner and planter.
2. John Walkup (1767-1843), an American Revolutionary War soldier from Virginia who later became a prominent farmer and landowner in Kentucky.
3. Mary Walkup (1798-1880), an American pioneer and one of the first female settlers in the Oregon Territory, known for her contributions to the early development of the region.
4. William Walkup (1809-1892), an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan from 1855 to 1857.
5. Samuel Walkup (1835-1908), an American businessman and philanthropist from Indiana, who made significant contributions to the establishment of educational institutions in his home state.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Walkup
Among Census respondents with the surname Walkup, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.9%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Walkup 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 Walkup surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.9% · 2,290
- Two or more races5.9% · 158
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 106
- Black or African American2.5% · 66
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 38
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Walkup
Walkup 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
#11,236
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,813
+26 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Down 670 places
2020
#11,316
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,666
-147 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Down 80 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,566 | 2,787 | 1.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,236 | 2,813 | 0.95 | +26 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 670 places |
| 2020 | #11,316 | 2,666 | 0.89 | -147 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 80 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 Walkup 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 | #11,236 | #11,316 | -0.7% |
| Count | 2,813 | 2,666 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.95 | 0.89 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Walkup bearers went from 2,813 to 2,666 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 80 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,236 to #11,316.
FAQ
Walkup surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Walkup?
Name Census estimates that about 3,057 living Americans carry the surname Walkup. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 112,121 residents.
How common is Walkup?
Walkup ranks #11,316 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.89 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 2,666 people with the surname Walkup. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,057), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.89 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.89 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 Walkup.
Has Walkup become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Walkup went from 2,813 recorded bearers to 2,666. That is a decrease of 147 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,236 to #11,316.
What does the Census say about the background of Walkup?
Among Census respondents with the surname Walkup, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.9%) and Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Walkup in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.9% (2,290 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Walkup appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.9%), Two or More Races (5.9%), Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Walkup (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 Walkup mean?
An English topographic surname for someone who lived near a path or walkway. 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 Walkup (0.89 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 Americans have the surname Walkup?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.