2000
#6,288
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,991
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.85
Rare Last name
Youngs
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Young, meaning "son of Young" or "descendant of Young."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,387 Americans carry the last name Youngs. That puts it at #6,890 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.57 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 63,626 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Youngs 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 Youngs with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.4K
1 in 63,626
Census rank
#6,890
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,698 bearers of the surname Youngs in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.57 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6890th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Youngs, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Black (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Youngs
The surname Youngs originated in England and is derived from the Old English word "geong" or "iung", meaning "young" or "youth". It is believed to have been initially used as a nickname for a young person or to differentiate between a father and son with the same given name.
The name can be traced back to the 12th century, with one of the earliest recorded instances being in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Iunga" and "Iunge". These early spellings indicate the name's evolution from its Old English roots.
During the Middle Ages, the surname was primarily found in the counties of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk, where it was commonly used to distinguish individuals within small communities. It is believed that the name may have been derived from the Old English place name "Iungabyrig", which later became Youngs-bury or Youngs-borough.
Notable individuals with the surname Youngs include Sir Peter Youngs (1544-1619), a wealthy merchant and benefactor from Norwich, England, who served as the city's mayor in 1605. Another prominent figure was Sir William Youngs (1693-1751), a British naval officer and Member of Parliament.
In the literary world, Edward Youngs (1683-1765), an English poet and playwright, is best known for his work "Night Thoughts", a series of poems exploring mortality and immortality. His contemporaries included Thomas Youngs (1773-1829), a British mathematician and physician who contributed significantly to the study of optics and the wave theory of light.
Moving into the 19th century, Brigham Youngs (1801-1877) was an influential leader of the Latter-day Saint movement and the founder of Salt Lake City, Utah. His legacy lives on in the Brigham Young University, one of the largest private universities in the United States.
Other notable figures with the Youngs surname include Sir George Youngs (1819-1905), a British civil engineer responsible for designing and constructing the Forth Bridge in Scotland, and Charles Youngs (1834-1908), an American baseball pioneer who helped establish the first professional baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Youngs
Among Census respondents with the surname Youngs, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Black (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Youngs 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 Youngs surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.7% · 4,120
- Two or more races4.6% · 215
- Black or African American3.5% · 166
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 145
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Youngs
Youngs 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
#6,776
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,977
-14 bearers (-0.3%)
Per 100,000 1.69
Rank movement Down 488 places
2020
#6,890
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,698
-279 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 1.57
Rank movement Down 114 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,288 | 4,991 | 1.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,776 | 4,977 | 1.69 | -14 bearers (-0.3%) | Down 488 places |
| 2020 | #6,890 | 4,698 | 1.57 | -279 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 114 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 Youngs 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 | #6,776 | #6,890 | -1.7% |
| Count | 4,977 | 4,698 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.69 | 1.57 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Youngs bearers went from 4,977 to 4,698 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 114 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,776 to #6,890.
FAQ
Youngs surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Youngs?
Name Census estimates that about 5,387 living Americans carry the surname Youngs. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 63,626 residents.
How common is Youngs?
Youngs ranks #6,890 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.57 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,698 people with the surname Youngs. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,387), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.57 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.57 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Youngs.
Has Youngs become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Youngs went from 4,977 recorded bearers to 4,698. That is a decrease of 279 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,776 to #6,890.
What does the Census say about the background of Youngs?
Among Census respondents with the surname Youngs, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Black (3.5%). 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 Youngs in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.7% (4,120 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Youngs appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.7%), Two or More Races (4.6%), Black (3.5%). 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 Youngs (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 Youngs mean?
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Young, meaning "son of Young" or "descendant of Young." 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 Youngs (1.57 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 Youngs?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Youngs at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.