2000
#1,332
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,327
First available Census row
Per 100,000 9.02
Uncommon Last name
Bingham
A locational surname referring to someone from one of several places named Bingham in England, meaning "homestead of Binga's people."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 28,925 Americans carry the last name Bingham. That puts it at #1,379 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.44 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 11,850 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bingham 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 Bingham with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
29K
1 in 11,850
Census rank
#1,379
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
25K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 25,224 bearers of the surname Bingham in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.44 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1379th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bingham, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Black (12.4%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bingham
The surname Bingham is of Anglo-Saxon origin, derived from the Old English words "binnan" meaning "within" and "ham" meaning "homestead" or "village". It likely originated as a place name referring to someone who lived within a particular village or settlement.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Bingham can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Binghame" and "Bingheham", referring to locations in Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire. These place names likely gave rise to the surname, as it was common for people to take their last names from the towns or villages they lived in.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname Bingham was Sir Richard Bingham, who lived in the 13th century and was a prominent landowner in Nottinghamshire. Another notable figure was Sir John Bingham (c. 1400-1460), a Member of Parliament and Sheriff of Nottinghamshire during the Wars of the Roses.
In the 16th century, the Bingham family became prominent landowners in Dorset, with Richard Bingham (c. 1528-1599) serving as Sheriff of Dorset and Somerset. His son, Sir Richard Bingham (1564-1657), was a notable military figure who served as Governor of Connaught in Ireland.
The 17th century saw the rise of George Bingham (1616-1668), a Parliamentarian officer during the English Civil War, and his son George Bingham (1668-1723), who became a wealthy landowner and Member of Parliament.
Other notable individuals with the surname Bingham include Hiram Bingham III (1875-1956), the American explorer and academic who rediscovered the Incan city of Machu Picchu in 1911, and Barry Bingham Sr. (1872-1923), an American judge and newspaper publisher who owned The Courier-Journal and The Louisville Times.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bingham
Among Census respondents with the surname Bingham, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Black (12.4%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Bingham 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 Bingham surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.5% · 20,051
- Black or African American12.4% · 3,116
- Two or more races3.8% · 962
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 833
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 161
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 101
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bingham
Bingham 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
#1,360
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,941
+1,614 bearers (+6.6%)
Per 100,000 8.79
Rank movement Down 28 places
2020
#1,379
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,224
-717 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 8.44
Rank movement Down 19 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,332 | 24,327 | 9.02 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,360 | 25,941 | 8.79 | +1,614 bearers (+6.6%) | Down 28 places |
| 2020 | #1,379 | 25,224 | 8.44 | -717 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 19 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 Bingham 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 | #1,360 | #1,379 | -1.4% |
| Count | 25,941 | 25,224 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 8.79 | 8.44 | -4.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bingham bearers went from 25,941 to 25,224 (-2.8% change). The surname moved down 19 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,360 to #1,379.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Bingham
FAQ
Bingham surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bingham?
Name Census estimates that about 28,925 living Americans carry the surname Bingham. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 11,850 residents.
How common is Bingham?
Bingham ranks #1,379 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.44 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 25,224 people with the surname Bingham. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (28,925), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.44 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.44 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Bingham.
Has Bingham become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bingham went from 25,941 recorded bearers to 25,224. That is a decrease of 717 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,360 to #1,379.
What does the Census say about the background of Bingham?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bingham, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Black (12.4%) 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 Bingham in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.5% (20,051 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bingham appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.5%), Black (12.4%), 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 Bingham (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 Bingham mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from one of several places named Bingham in England, meaning "homestead of Binga's people." 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 Bingham (8.44 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 surname Bingham?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.