2000
#4,618
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,018
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.60
Rare Last name
Worth
An English locational surname denoting someone who lived near an enclosure or on a protected homestead.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,597 Americans carry the last name Worth. That puts it at #4,584 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.51 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 39,869 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Worth 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 Worth with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.6K
1 in 39,869
Census rank
#4,584
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,497 bearers of the surname Worth in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.51 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4584th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Worth, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.1%. The next largest groups are Black (7.4%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Worth
The surname Worth originated in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. It derives from the Old English word "worð" or "wyrth," meaning an enclosed homestead, farm, or estate. The name was initially given to people who lived in or near such a homestead or settlement.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Worth date back to the late 11th century, shortly after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, includes several references to individuals with variations of the Worth surname.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Ailric de Worth, a landowner in Hampshire mentioned in the Domesday Book. Other early records include Reginald de Wurth in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1191 and William de la Worthe in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296.
Over time, the surname evolved to include various spellings, such as Worthe, Wurth, and Wurthe, reflecting regional dialects and scribal variations. Some of these variants became associated with specific locations, like Worth in Sussex, which likely influenced the name's spelling in that area.
Several notable individuals throughout history bore the Worth surname, including:
1. Richard Worth (c. 1450-1534), an English merchant and member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers in London.
2. William Worth (c. 1675-1749), an English philosopher and theologian known for his treatise on the immateriality of the soul.
3. Jonathan Worth (1802-1869), a prominent American politician who served as the 29th Governor of North Carolina from 1865 to 1868.
4. William Jenkins Worth (1794-1849), a United States Army officer who fought in the War of 1812, the Seminole Wars, and the Mexican-American War.
5. Nicholas Worth (c. 1641-1711), an English poet and playwright known for his tragedy "The Orphan of China."
The Worth surname has a rich history spanning several centuries, originating from the Old English word for an enclosed homestead and evolving into various spellings associated with specific regions and notable individuals.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Worth
Among Census respondents with the surname Worth, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.1%. The next largest groups are Black (7.4%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Worth 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 Worth surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.1% · 6,303
- Black or African American7.4% · 557
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 275
- Two or more races3.4% · 252
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 75
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 35
Timeline
Historical Census data for Worth
Worth 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
#4,598
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,713
+695 bearers (+9.9%)
Per 100,000 2.61
Rank movement Up 20 places
2020
#4,584
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,497
-216 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 2.51
Rank movement Up 14 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,618 | 7,018 | 2.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,598 | 7,713 | 2.61 | +695 bearers (+9.9%) | Up 20 places |
| 2020 | #4,584 | 7,497 | 2.51 | -216 bearers (-2.8%) | Up 14 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 Worth 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 | #4,598 | #4,584 | 0.3% |
| Count | 7,713 | 7,497 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 2.61 | 2.51 | -3.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Worth bearers went from 7,713 to 7,497 (-2.8% change). The surname moved up 14 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,598 to #4,584.
FAQ
Worth surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Worth?
Name Census estimates that about 8,597 living Americans carry the surname Worth. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 39,869 residents.
How common is Worth?
Worth ranks #4,584 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.51 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 7,497 people with the surname Worth. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,597), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.51 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.51 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 Worth.
Has Worth become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Worth went from 7,713 recorded bearers to 7,497. That is a decrease of 216 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,598 to #4,584.
What does the Census say about the background of Worth?
Among Census respondents with the surname Worth, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.1%. The next largest groups are Black (7.4%) and Hispanic (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 Worth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.1% (6,303 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Worth appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.1%), Black (7.4%), Hispanic (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 Worth (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 Worth mean?
An English locational surname denoting someone who lived near an enclosure or on a protected homestead. 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 Worth (2.51 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 Worth?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.