2000
#311
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 88,811
First available Census row
Per 100,000 32.92
Common Last name
Byrd
An English occupational surname referring to someone who hunted birds or kept birds.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 101,357 Americans carry the last name Byrd. That puts it at #346 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 29.57 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,382 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Byrd 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 Byrd with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
101K
1 in 3,382
Census rank
#346
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
29.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
88K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 88,388 bearers of the surname Byrd in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 29.57 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 346th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Byrd, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.5%. The next largest groups are Black (33.7%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Byrd
The surname Byrd is of English origin and can be traced back to the early 12th century. It derives from the Old English words "brid" or "bridd", meaning a young bird or nestling. The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for a small or young person, or perhaps someone who exhibited bird-like qualities or behaviors.
The earliest known record of the name Byrd appears in the Pipe Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1195, where a William Brid is mentioned. In the 13th century, the name is found in various forms such as Bryd, Byrde, and Bride in different parts of England, including Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Byrd is found in the Hundred Rolls of Buckinghamshire in 1273, which mentions a William Bryd. The Byrd family is also mentioned in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, indicating their presence in the region.
During the medieval period, the name Byrd was often associated with place names such as Bridstow or Birdlip, which may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time. The Domesday Book of 1086 does not contain any direct references to the surname Byrd, but it does mention several places with similar names, such as Brid and Bridham.
In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname Byrd was William Byrd (1539/40 - 1623), an English composer of the Renaissance period. He is considered one of the greatest composers of the late Renaissance and is known for his sacred and secular music.
Another prominent individual with the surname Byrd was Richard Evelyn Byrd (1888 - 1957), an American naval officer and explorer who claimed to be the first person to fly over the North Pole in 1926. He also led expeditions to Antarctica in the late 1920s and 1930s.
Harry F. Byrd (1887 - 1966) was an influential American politician who served as the 33rd Governor of Virginia and later as a United States Senator. He was a member of the Democratic Party and played a significant role in Virginia politics for over four decades.
In the field of literature, Robert Byrd (1915 - 1959) was an American novelist and short story writer, known for his works that explored the lives of ordinary people in the American South.
William Byrd II (1674 - 1744) was a prominent figure in colonial Virginia and served as a member of the House of Burgesses and the Governor's Council. He founded the city of Richmond and was a wealthy planter and slave owner.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Byrd
Among Census respondents with the surname Byrd, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.5%. The next largest groups are Black (33.7%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Byrd 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 Byrd surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.5% · 49,982
- Black or African American33.7% · 29,811
- Two or more races5.1% · 4,497
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 2,691
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 1,013
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 394
Timeline
Historical Census data for Byrd
Byrd 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
#331
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 92,904
+4,093 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 31.50
Rank movement Down 20 places
2020
#346
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 88,388
-4,516 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 29.57
Rank movement Down 15 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #311 | 88,811 | 32.92 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #331 | 92,904 | 31.50 | +4,093 bearers (+4.6%) | Down 20 places |
| 2020 | #346 | 88,388 | 29.57 | -4,516 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 15 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 Byrd 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 | #331 | #346 | -4.5% |
| Count | 92,904 | 88,388 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 31.50 | 29.57 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Byrd bearers went from 92,904 to 88,388 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 15 positions in the national ranking, going from #331 to #346.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Byrd
FAQ
Byrd surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Byrd?
Name Census estimates that about 101,357 living Americans carry the surname Byrd. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,382 residents.
How common is Byrd?
Byrd ranks #346 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 29.57 per 100,000 residents, which is about 30 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 88,388 people with the surname Byrd. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (101,357), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 29.57 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 29.57 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 30 of them to have the surname Byrd.
Has Byrd become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Byrd went from 92,904 recorded bearers to 88,388. That is a decrease of 4,516 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #331 to #346.
What does the Census say about the background of Byrd?
Among Census respondents with the surname Byrd, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.5%. The next largest groups are Black (33.7%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Byrd in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.5% (49,982 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Byrd appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (56.5%), Black (33.7%), Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Byrd (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 Byrd mean?
An English occupational surname referring to someone who hunted birds or kept birds. 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 Byrd (29.57 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 common is the surname Byrd?
You can see how common the surname Byrd is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.