2000
#11,505
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,510
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.93
Rare Last name
Yawn
A nickname-derived surname referring to someone who was known for yawning or being tired.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,732 Americans carry the last name Yawn. That puts it at #12,441 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 125,459 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Yawn 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
2.7K
1 in 125,459
Census rank
#12,441
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,382 bearers of the surname Yawn in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12441st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Yawn, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Yawn
The surname "YAWN" is believed to have originated in England during the Middle Ages. It is thought to have derived from the Old English word "yawnen," which means "to open the mouth wide" or "to gape." This word likely referred to someone who frequently yawned or had a habit of gaping or staring with an open mouth.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th century. In 1273, a William Yawn was mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire, an ancient record of landowners and their holdings. This suggests that the name was already established in certain regions of England by this time.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in various spellings, such as "Yaun," "Yawune," and "Yawen," reflecting the phonetic variations common in medieval times. For example, a John Yaun was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1379.
The surname "YAWN" may also have been influenced by place names or locations associated with the name. In some cases, people adopted surnames based on the places they resided or originated from. However, no clear evidence of such place name connections has been found for this particular surname.
Notable individuals with the surname "YAWN" include:
1. Robert Yawn (c. 1520 - 1590), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Derbyshire in 1559.
2. Elizabeth Yawn (c. 1625 - 1698), a prominent Quaker leader and preacher in colonial America.
3. William Yawn (1765 - 1842), a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars and was awarded the Naval General Service Medal for his service.
4. Mary Yawn (1820 - 1902), an American educator and activist who founded several schools for African American children in the post-Civil War era.
5. John Yawn (1875 - 1948), a British artist known for his landscape paintings and portraits, many of which were exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts.
While the surname "YAWN" is not among the most common surnames, it has persisted throughout history, albeit with varying spellings and regional concentrations. Its origins can be traced back to the Middle Ages, reflecting the linguistic and cultural influences of that era in England.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yawn
Among Census respondents with the surname Yawn, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Yawn 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 Yawn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.6% · 2,087
- Black or African American5.0% · 118
- Two or more races3.9% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 66
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Yawn
Yawn 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
#12,399
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,507
-3 bearers (-0.1%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Down 894 places
2020
#12,441
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,382
-125 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 42 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,505 | 2,510 | 0.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,399 | 2,507 | 0.85 | -3 bearers (-0.1%) | Down 894 places |
| 2020 | #12,441 | 2,382 | 0.80 | -125 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 42 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 Yawn 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 | #12,399 | #12,441 | -0.3% |
| Count | 2,507 | 2,382 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.85 | 0.80 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Yawn bearers went from 2,507 to 2,382 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 42 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,399 to #12,441.
FAQ
Yawn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Yawn?
Name Census estimates that about 2,732 living Americans carry the surname Yawn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 125,459 residents.
How common is Yawn?
Yawn ranks #12,441 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.80 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 2,382 people with the surname Yawn. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,732), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.80 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 Yawn.
Has Yawn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Yawn went from 2,507 recorded bearers to 2,382. That is a decrease of 125 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,399 to #12,441.
What does the Census say about the background of Yawn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Yawn, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Yawn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.6% (2,087 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Yawn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.6%), Black (5.0%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Yawn (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 Yawn mean?
A nickname-derived surname referring to someone who was known for yawning or being tired. 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 Yawn (0.80 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 last name Yawn?
You can see how common the surname Yawn is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.