2000
#516
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 57,873
First available Census row
Per 100,000 21.45
Uncommon Last name
Cain
A biblical surname referring to the first murderer, the son of Adam and Eve.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 67,108 Americans carry the last name Cain. That puts it at #564 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 19.58 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,108 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cain 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 Cain with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
67K
1 in 5,108
Census rank
#564
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
19.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
59K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 58,521 bearers of the surname Cain in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 19.58 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 564th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cain, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.5%. The next largest groups are Black (16.6%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cain
The surname Cain is of English origin, derived from the biblical name Cain, the son of Adam and Eve who slew his brother Abel. It is believed to have been initially used as a surname in the 12th century.
The name Cain is thought to have originated from the Hebrew word "qanah," meaning "to acquire" or "to possess." This may have been a reference to Cain's occupation as a farmer or landowner.
One of the earliest records of the surname Cain can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners and tenants in England after the Norman Conquest. The name appears as "Cain" and "Caine" in various locations across the country.
In the 13th century, a family with the surname Cain was recorded in Gloucestershire, England. Notably, Sir Thomas Cain (c. 1270-1340) was a prominent English landowner and knight who served under King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War.
The surname also has connections to place names in England, such as Caine in Wiltshire and Caine's Farm in Hampshire. These locations may have contributed to the surname's spread and variations in spelling, like Cayne or Kaine.
During the 16th century, the name Cain gained recognition through the work of the English poet and playwright Thomas Sackville (1536-1608), who wrote the influential tragedy "Gorboduc" and was a co-author of the famous collection "A Myrrour for Magistrates."
Another notable figure was Sir Henry Cain (1597-1671), an English politician and member of the House of Commons during the English Civil War. He was a staunch supporter of the Parliamentarian cause and played a role in the trial and execution of King Charles I.
In the 18th century, John Cain (1726-1798) was a prominent English Baptist minister and author, known for his works on theology and religious controversies of the time.
The surname Cain also has a rich history in other countries, such as Ireland, where it is believed to have originated as an Anglicization of the Gaelic name "O'Cahan" or "O'Cathain."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cain
Among Census respondents with the surname Cain, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.5%. The next largest groups are Black (16.6%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Cain 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 Cain surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.5% · 43,604
- Black or African American16.6% · 9,693
- Two or more races4.5% · 2,661
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 1,811
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 395
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 357
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cain
Cain 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
#551
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 60,948
+3,075 bearers (+5.3%)
Per 100,000 20.66
Rank movement Down 35 places
2020
#564
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 58,521
-2,427 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 19.58
Rank movement Down 13 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #516 | 57,873 | 21.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #551 | 60,948 | 20.66 | +3,075 bearers (+5.3%) | Down 35 places |
| 2020 | #564 | 58,521 | 19.58 | -2,427 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 13 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 Cain 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 | #551 | #564 | -2.4% |
| Count | 60,948 | 58,521 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 20.66 | 19.58 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cain bearers went from 60,948 to 58,521 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 13 positions in the national ranking, going from #551 to #564.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Cain
FAQ
Cain surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cain?
Name Census estimates that about 67,108 living Americans carry the surname Cain. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,108 residents.
How common is Cain?
Cain ranks #564 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 19.58 per 100,000 residents, which is about 20 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 58,521 people with the surname Cain. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (67,108), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 19.58 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 19.58 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 20 of them to have the surname Cain.
Has Cain become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cain went from 60,948 recorded bearers to 58,521. That is a decrease of 2,427 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #551 to #564.
What does the Census say about the background of Cain?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cain, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.5%. The next largest groups are Black (16.6%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Cain in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.5% (43,604 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cain appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.5%), Black (16.6%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Cain (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 Cain mean?
A biblical surname referring to the first murderer, the son of Adam and Eve. 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 Cain (19.58 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 Cain?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Cain, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.