2000
#10,088
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,945
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.09
Rare Last name
Yearwood
An English habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "enclosed wood" or "fenced wood."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,459 Americans carry the last name Yearwood. That puts it at #10,175 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.01 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 99,091 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Yearwood 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 Yearwood with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.5K
1 in 99,091
Census rank
#10,175
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,016 bearers of the surname Yearwood in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.01 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10175th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Yearwood, the largest self-reported group is White at 47.4%. The next largest groups are Black (37.9%) and Hispanic (8.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Yearwood
The surname Yearwood is of English origin and dates back to the late 16th century. It is believed to have originated as a locational name, referring to someone who lived near a wooded area or forest. The name is derived from the Old English words "gear" meaning "year" and "wudu" meaning "wood," essentially translating to "year wood" or "perennial wood."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Putney, London, where a John Yearwood was listed in 1599. The name also appears in the records of the nearby parish of Wandsworth, where a William Yearwood was recorded in 1609.
In the 17th century, the name Yearwood was particularly prevalent in the counties of Surrey and Hampshire in southern England. Some notable individuals from this period include Thomas Yearwood, a merchant from London who was born in 1632, and William Yearwood, a landowner from the village of Headley in Hampshire, who was born in 1657.
As with many English surnames, variations in spelling were common in earlier times. Some alternative spellings of Yearwood found in historical records include Yerwood, Yarwood, and Yereward.
One of the earliest known references to the name in the United States can be traced back to John Yearwood, who was born in England in 1720 and later emigrated to Virginia. His descendants eventually settled in various parts of the American South, including North Carolina and Tennessee.
In the 19th century, a prominent figure bearing the Yearwood name was Richard Yearwood, a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in 1782 and had a distinguished career, eventually attaining the rank of Admiral.
Another notable individual was William Yearwood, an English architect born in 1839, who was responsible for the design of several notable buildings in London, including the Royal College of Surgeons and the Church of St. Mary Abbots in Kensington.
While the surname Yearwood is not among the most common in the English-speaking world, it has a rich history and can be traced back to its origins in the wooded areas of southern England centuries ago.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yearwood
Among Census respondents with the surname Yearwood, the largest self-reported group is White at 47.4%. The next largest groups are Black (37.9%) and Hispanic (8.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Yearwood 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 Yearwood surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.4% · 1,429
- Black or African American37.9% · 1,144
- Hispanic or Latino8.8% · 265
- Two or more races4.9% · 149
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Yearwood
Yearwood 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
#10,429
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,085
+140 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 1.05
Rank movement Down 341 places
2020
#10,175
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,016
-69 bearers (-2.2%)
Per 100,000 1.01
Rank movement Up 254 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,088 | 2,945 | 1.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,429 | 3,085 | 1.05 | +140 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 341 places |
| 2020 | #10,175 | 3,016 | 1.01 | -69 bearers (-2.2%) | Up 254 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 Yearwood 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 | #10,429 | #10,175 | 2.4% |
| Count | 3,085 | 3,016 | -2.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.05 | 1.01 | -3.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Yearwood bearers went from 3,085 to 3,016 (-2.2% change). The surname moved up 254 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,429 to #10,175.
FAQ
Yearwood surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Yearwood?
Name Census estimates that about 3,459 living Americans carry the surname Yearwood. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 99,091 residents.
How common is Yearwood?
Yearwood ranks #10,175 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.01 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 3,016 people with the surname Yearwood. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,459), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.01 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.01 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 Yearwood.
Has Yearwood become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Yearwood went from 3,085 recorded bearers to 3,016. That is a decrease of 69 (-2.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,429 to #10,175.
What does the Census say about the background of Yearwood?
Among Census respondents with the surname Yearwood, the largest self-reported group is White at 47.4%. The next largest groups are Black (37.9%) and Hispanic (8.8%). 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 Yearwood in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.4% (1,429 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Yearwood appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (47.4%), Black (37.9%), Hispanic (8.8%). 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 Yearwood (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 Yearwood mean?
An English habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "enclosed wood" or "fenced wood." 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 Yearwood (1.01 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 share the surname Yearwood?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.