2000
#10,369
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,847
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.06
Rare Last name
Yeomans
An occupational surname referring to a servant or attendant in a royal or noble household.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,117 Americans carry the last name Yeomans. That puts it at #11,141 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.91 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 109,963 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Yeomans 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 Yeomans with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.1K
1 in 109,963
Census rank
#11,141
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,718 bearers of the surname Yeomans in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.91 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11141st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Yeomans, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Yeomans
The surname Yeomans is an English occupational name derived from the Old English word 'geman', meaning a villein, a man of peasant stock employed on a manor farm. It originated in the 11th century during the feudal system in England, where yeomen were farmers who cultivated their own land.
Yeomans is also a variant spelling of the surname Yeoman, which is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, the earliest surviving public record commissioned by William the Conqueror. One of the earliest recorded examples of the spelling 'Yeomans' is found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1242, referring to a Robert le Yemans.
The name Yeomans is particularly associated with the counties of Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Wiltshire in the southwest of England, where it first emerged. It is believed that the surname may have derived from a place name such as Yeomanstown or Yeomans Land, although no specific location with these names has been identified.
One of the earliest notable figures with the surname Yeomans was John Yeomans (c. 1510-1572), an English Catholic priest and martyr who was executed during the Reformation under Elizabeth I. Another was Robert Yeomans (c. 1572-1644), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Warden of Wadham College, Oxford.
In the 17th century, Sir Robert Yeomans (1619-1691) was a prominent English merchant and politician who served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1676. His son, John Yeomans (1650-1721), was a successful merchant and member of the East India Company.
Later notable individuals with the surname include George Yeomans (1800-1868), an English architect and surveyor who designed several churches and public buildings in London, and Sir Robert Yeomans (1845-1923), a British civil engineer and contractor who was involved in the construction of several major railway projects.
These are just a few examples of the historical figures who have carried the surname Yeomans, which has its roots in the agricultural society of medieval England and reflects the occupational origins of many English surnames.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yeomans
Among Census respondents with the surname Yeomans, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Yeomans 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 Yeomans surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 2,421
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 127
- Two or more races3.8% · 103
- Black or African American1.1% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Yeomans
Yeomans 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
#10,689
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,990
+143 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 1.01
Rank movement Down 320 places
2020
#11,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,718
-272 bearers (-9.1%)
Per 100,000 0.91
Rank movement Down 452 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,369 | 2,847 | 1.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,689 | 2,990 | 1.01 | +143 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 320 places |
| 2020 | #11,141 | 2,718 | 0.91 | -272 bearers (-9.1%) | Down 452 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 Yeomans 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 | #10,689 | #11,141 | -4.2% |
| Count | 2,990 | 2,718 | -9.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.01 | 0.91 | -10.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Yeomans bearers went from 2,990 to 2,718 (-9.1% change). The surname moved down 452 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,689 to #11,141.
FAQ
Yeomans surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Yeomans?
Name Census estimates that about 3,117 living Americans carry the surname Yeomans. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 109,963 residents.
How common is Yeomans?
Yeomans ranks #11,141 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.91 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 2,718 people with the surname Yeomans. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,117), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.91 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.91 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 Yeomans.
Has Yeomans become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Yeomans went from 2,990 recorded bearers to 2,718. That is a decrease of 272 (-9.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,689 to #11,141.
What does the Census say about the background of Yeomans?
Among Census respondents with the surname Yeomans, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) 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 Yeomans in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (2,421 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Yeomans appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.1%), Hispanic (4.7%), 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 Yeomans (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 Yeomans mean?
An occupational surname referring to a servant or attendant in a royal or noble household. 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 Yeomans (0.91 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 Yeomans?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.