2000
#578
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 52,439
First available Census row
Per 100,000 19.44
Uncommon Last name
Cameron
A Scottish surname referring to someone with a crooked nose or a crooked river.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 60,627 Americans carry the last name Cameron. That puts it at #625 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 17.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,653 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cameron 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 Cameron with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
61K
1 in 5,653
Census rank
#625
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
17.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
53K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 52,870 bearers of the surname Cameron in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 17.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 625th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cameron, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Black (18.2%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cameron
The surname Cameron is of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic word "cam-shron" which means "crooked nose" or "hook-nosed". It is believed to have originated in the Highlands region of Scotland, particularly in the areas around Lochaber and Argyll.
The name is thought to have first appeared in written records during the 12th century, with the earliest known reference being found in the Chartulary of Moray, a collection of charters and other documents relating to the Diocese of Moray in northern Scotland. This early reference dates back to around 1190 and mentions a person named "Gillecam Camrone".
In the 13th century, the Cameron clan began to establish itself as a prominent family in the Scottish Highlands. One of the earliest recorded members of the clan was Sir John Cameron, who lived during the reign of King Alexander III (1241-1286). Sir John is believed to have been the first to adopt the surname Cameron as a hereditary family name.
Throughout the centuries, the Cameron clan played a significant role in Scottish history, particularly in their support for the Jacobite cause during the 17th and 18th centuries. Notable figures from the clan include Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel (1629-1719), who fought for the Jacobites during the Glorious Revolution and the Jacobite Rising of 1689.
Another prominent Cameron was Donald Cameron of Lochiel (1700-1748), who led the clan during the Jacobite Rising of 1745. He fought alongside Prince Charles Edward Stuart, also known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, and was later forced into exile after the defeat of the Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden in 1746.
In more recent times, the surname Cameron has been carried by several notable individuals, including David Cameron (born 1966), who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016, and James Cameron (born 1954), the acclaimed Canadian filmmaker known for directing blockbuster movies such as "Titanic" and "Avatar".
Other notable individuals with the surname Cameron include Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879), a pioneering British photographer, and Samantha Cameron (born 1971), the wife of former Prime Minister David Cameron and a successful businesswoman in her own right.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cameron
Among Census respondents with the surname Cameron, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Black (18.2%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Cameron 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 Cameron surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.1% · 38,102
- Black or African American18.2% · 9,632
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 2,228
- Two or more races4.1% · 2,150
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 434
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 324
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cameron
Cameron 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
#614
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 55,240
+2,801 bearers (+5.3%)
Per 100,000 18.73
Rank movement Down 36 places
2020
#625
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 52,870
-2,370 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 17.69
Rank movement Down 11 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #578 | 52,439 | 19.44 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #614 | 55,240 | 18.73 | +2,801 bearers (+5.3%) | Down 36 places |
| 2020 | #625 | 52,870 | 17.69 | -2,370 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 11 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 Cameron 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 | #614 | #625 | -1.8% |
| Count | 55,240 | 52,870 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 18.73 | 17.69 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cameron bearers went from 55,240 to 52,870 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 11 positions in the national ranking, going from #614 to #625.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Cameron
FAQ
Cameron surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cameron?
Name Census estimates that about 60,627 living Americans carry the surname Cameron. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,653 residents.
How common is Cameron?
Cameron ranks #625 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 17.69 per 100,000 residents, which is about 18 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 52,870 people with the surname Cameron. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (60,627), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 17.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 17.69 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 18 of them to have the surname Cameron.
Has Cameron become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cameron went from 55,240 recorded bearers to 52,870. That is a decrease of 2,370 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #614 to #625.
What does the Census say about the background of Cameron?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cameron, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Black (18.2%) and Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Cameron in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.1% (38,102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cameron appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.1%), Black (18.2%), Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Cameron (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 Cameron mean?
A Scottish surname referring to someone with a crooked nose or a crooked river. 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 Cameron (17.69 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 Cameron?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Cameron? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.