2000
#10,737
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,728
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.01
Rare Last name
Yoho
A Chinese surname meaning "river" or "creek," or a variant of the English surname "Yohe."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,951 Americans carry the last name Yoho. That puts it at #11,664 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.86 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 116,149 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Yoho 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
3.0K
1 in 116,149
Census rank
#11,664
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,573 bearers of the surname Yoho in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.86 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11664th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Yoho, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (1.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Yoho
The surname YOHO is believed to have originated in Scotland during the late 16th century. It is thought to be a anglicized form of the Gaelic surname Eò, which means "yew tree" or "yew wood". The earliest recorded instances of the YOHO name come from parish records in Ayrshire and Argyll, regions known for their dense forests of yew trees.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various Scottish legal documents and land registries, often spelled as "Yoehoo" or "Yeohoo". One notable bearer was John Yoho, a farmer from Kilwinning who was involved in a property dispute in 1632 over the ownership of a yew wood grove.
As Scottish families began emigrating to the Americas in the 18th century, the YOHO name traveled with them. One of the earliest recorded instances is William Yoho, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1773 from Aberdeenshire. His descendants later settled in Virginia and Kentucky, where the name became well-established in rural communities.
In the 19th century, the YOHO surname is found in various historical records across the United States and Canada. Notable bearers include James Yoho (1819-1887), a prominent farmer and landowner in Crawford County, Ohio, and Samuel Yoho (1838-1914), a Union soldier who fought in the American Civil War.
Other notable individuals with the YOHO surname include John Yoho (1867-1945), a Canadian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, and William Yoho (1872-1942), a prospector and explorer who lent his name to several geographic features in British Columbia, including Yoho National Park and Yoho Valley.
Throughout its history, the YOHO name has maintained its Scottish roots and connections to the yew tree, a symbol of endurance and longevity in Celtic folklore.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yoho
Among Census respondents with the surname Yoho, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (1.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Yoho 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 Yoho surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 2,373
- Two or more races4.2% · 107
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 42
- Black or African American1.0% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Yoho
Yoho 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
#11,430
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,756
+28 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Down 693 places
2020
#11,664
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,573
-183 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Down 234 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,737 | 2,728 | 1.01 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,430 | 2,756 | 0.93 | +28 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 693 places |
| 2020 | #11,664 | 2,573 | 0.86 | -183 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 234 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 Yoho 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 | #11,430 | #11,664 | -2.0% |
| Count | 2,756 | 2,573 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.93 | 0.86 | -7.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Yoho bearers went from 2,756 to 2,573 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 234 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,430 to #11,664.
FAQ
Yoho surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Yoho?
Name Census estimates that about 2,951 living Americans carry the surname Yoho. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 116,149 residents.
How common is Yoho?
Yoho ranks #11,664 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.86 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 2,573 people with the surname Yoho. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,951), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.86 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.86 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 Yoho.
Has Yoho become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Yoho went from 2,756 recorded bearers to 2,573. That is a decrease of 183 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,430 to #11,664.
What does the Census say about the background of Yoho?
Among Census respondents with the surname Yoho, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (1.6%). 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 Yoho in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (2,373 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Yoho appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (1.6%). 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 Yoho (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 Yoho mean?
A Chinese surname meaning "river" or "creek," or a variant of the English surname "Yohe." 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 Yoho (0.86 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 Yoho?
See how many people are called Yoho on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.