2000
#5,939
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,335
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.98
Rare Last name
Bancroft
From an English place name meaning "bean field," referring to a person who lived near or worked in one.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,995 Americans carry the last name Bancroft. That puts it at #6,265 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 57,173 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bancroft 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 Bancroft with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.0K
1 in 57,173
Census rank
#6,265
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,228 bearers of the surname Bancroft in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6265th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bancroft, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bancroft
The surname Bancroft has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "ban" meaning "bone" and "croft" meaning "small enclosed field" or "farmstead." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to a person who lived or worked on a small farm or enclosure near a place where bones or animal remains were kept or disposed of.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bancroft can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appeared in various spellings, such as "Bancroft" and "Bancrofte," indicating its longstanding presence in the country.
In the 13th century, records show a John de Bancroft who was a landowner in Lancashire, Northern England. This suggests that the name had already become established as a surname by this time. Another notable figure was Richard Bancroft (c. 1544-1610), who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1604 until his death. He played a significant role in the production of the King James Version of the Bible.
The name Bancroft is also associated with several place names in England, such as Bancroft in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, and Bancroft in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. These locations likely derived their names from individuals or families bearing the Bancroft surname, further solidifying its historical significance.
Other notable individuals with the surname Bancroft include Hubert Howe Bancroft (1832-1918), an American historian and ethnologist known for his extensive works on the history of the American West, and Anne Bancroft (1931-2005), an acclaimed American actress who won an Academy Award for her performance in the film "The Miracle Worker."
George Bancroft (1800-1891) was an American historian and statesman who served as the United States Secretary of the Navy and later as the United States Minister to the United Kingdom. He is best known for his monumental work, "History of the United States from the Discovery of the American Continent," which spanned multiple volumes and became a seminal work in the field of American history.
Mary Bancroft (1903-1997) was a Canadian novelist and playwright who is considered a pioneering figure in Canadian literature. Her novel "The Grass Still Grows" (1925) is regarded as one of the earliest works of modern Canadian fiction, exploring themes of rural life and the struggles of women in a patriarchal society.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bancroft
Among Census respondents with the surname Bancroft, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Bancroft 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 Bancroft surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.7% · 4,635
- Two or more races3.0% · 156
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 153
- Black or African American2.4% · 125
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 115
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 44
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bancroft
Bancroft 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
#6,315
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,404
+69 bearers (+1.3%)
Per 100,000 1.83
Rank movement Down 376 places
2020
#6,265
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,228
-176 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 1.75
Rank movement Up 50 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,939 | 5,335 | 1.98 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,315 | 5,404 | 1.83 | +69 bearers (+1.3%) | Down 376 places |
| 2020 | #6,265 | 5,228 | 1.75 | -176 bearers (-3.3%) | Up 50 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 Bancroft 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 | #6,315 | #6,265 | 0.8% |
| Count | 5,404 | 5,228 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.83 | 1.75 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bancroft bearers went from 5,404 to 5,228 (-3.3% change). The surname moved up 50 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,315 to #6,265.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Bancroft
FAQ
Bancroft surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bancroft?
Name Census estimates that about 5,995 living Americans carry the surname Bancroft. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 57,173 residents.
How common is Bancroft?
Bancroft ranks #6,265 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.75 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 5,228 people with the surname Bancroft. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,995), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.75 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 Bancroft.
Has Bancroft become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bancroft went from 5,404 recorded bearers to 5,228. That is a decrease of 176 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #6,315 to #6,265.
What does the Census say about the background of Bancroft?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bancroft, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Bancroft in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.7% (4,635 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bancroft appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.7%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Bancroft (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 Bancroft mean?
From an English place name meaning "bean field," referring to a person who lived near or worked in one. 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 Bancroft (1.75 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 common is the surname Bancroft?
Find out how many people have the surname Bancroft on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.