2000
#3,662
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,911
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.30
Rare Last name
Worden
An occupational surname for a keeper or guardian of a manor house or estate.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,923 Americans carry the last name Worden. That puts it at #3,977 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.89 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 34,541 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Worden 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 Worden with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.9K
1 in 34,541
Census rank
#3,977
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,653 bearers of the surname Worden in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.89 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3977th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Worden, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Worden
The surname Worden has its origins in England, and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word 'worð', meaning an enclosed homestead or farm. The name was initially associated with people who lived in a particular enclosure or settlement.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire, dated 1166, which mentions a person named Willelmus de Worden. The surname is also mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Buckinghamshire in 1273, referring to a place called 'Worden'.
The name Worden is closely linked to various place names in England, such as Worden in Lancashire, Worden Green in Hertfordshire, and Worden Hall in Leyland. These place names likely originated from the Old English word 'worð', indicating that the surname was initially derived from the location where the family resided.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in the form of 'Wordene' in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1332. This variation in spelling was common during that time period due to the lack of standardized spelling conventions.
One notable individual bearing the surname Worden was John Worden, a 16th-century English clergyman and academic who served as the Master of Balliol College, Oxford, from 1598 to 1609.
Another significant figure was Peter Worden, born in 1596, who was an English colonist and one of the earliest settlers in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He is believed to have arrived in America in 1623 and played a crucial role in the early development of the colony.
In the 18th century, Robert Worden, born in 1718, was a prominent American merchant and politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He served as a member of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly and was actively involved in the American Revolution.
The 19th century saw the rise of John Lort Worden, an American naval officer who played a significant role during the American Civil War. Born in 1818, he is best known for commanding the USS Monitor during the Battle of Hampton Roads in 1862, one of the most famous naval battles in history.
Another notable figure from the 19th century was John Lorimer Worden, born in 1835, who was an American diplomat and politician. He served as the United States Minister to Bolivia and later as the Consul-General to Mexico City.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Worden
Among Census respondents with the surname Worden, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Worden 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 Worden surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.6% · 7,750
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 381
- Two or more races3.8% · 329
- Black or African American0.9% · 75
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 72
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 46
Timeline
Historical Census data for Worden
Worden 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
#3,880
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,139
+228 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 3.10
Rank movement Down 218 places
2020
#3,977
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,653
-486 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 2.89
Rank movement Down 97 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,662 | 8,911 | 3.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,880 | 9,139 | 3.10 | +228 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 218 places |
| 2020 | #3,977 | 8,653 | 2.89 | -486 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 97 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 Worden 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 | #3,880 | #3,977 | -2.5% |
| Count | 9,139 | 8,653 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 3.10 | 2.89 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Worden bearers went from 9,139 to 8,653 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 97 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,880 to #3,977.
FAQ
Worden surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Worden?
Name Census estimates that about 9,923 living Americans carry the surname Worden. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 34,541 residents.
How common is Worden?
Worden ranks #3,977 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.89 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,653 people with the surname Worden. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,923), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.89 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.89 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Worden.
Has Worden become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Worden went from 9,139 recorded bearers to 8,653. That is a decrease of 486 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,880 to #3,977.
What does the Census say about the background of Worden?
Among Census respondents with the surname Worden, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Worden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (7,750 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Worden appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.6%), Hispanic (4.4%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Worden (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 Worden mean?
An occupational surname for a keeper or guardian of a manor house or estate. 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 Worden (2.89 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 people are called Worden?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Worden is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.