2000
#1,123
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 28,572
First available Census row
Per 100,000 10.59
Uncommon Last name
Cash
An occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of chests, boxes, or containers.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 32,928 Americans carry the last name Cash. That puts it at #1,200 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 9.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 10,409 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cash 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 Cash with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
33K
1 in 10,409
Census rank
#1,200
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
9.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
29K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 28,715 bearers of the surname Cash in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 9.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1200th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cash, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.2%. The next largest groups are Black (14.9%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cash
The surname Cash is of English origin and dates back to the medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the Old English word "cæsc," which means "cash" or "money." The name likely referred to a person who worked as a tax collector, moneylender, or banker.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cash can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire, a census-like record from 1273, where it is spelled "Casse." The name also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1301, where it is written as "Cayssh."
In the 15th century, the name Cash was associated with several place names in England, such as Cashio in Hertfordshire and Cashmore in Gloucestershire. These place names may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.
One notable figure with the surname Cash was John Cash (c. 1580-1659), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Grantham during the English Civil War. Another early bearer of the name was William Cash (c. 1600-1680), an English merchant and landowner in Coventry.
The Cash surname gained further prominence in the 18th and 19th centuries. Sir John Cash (1756-1838) was a British naval officer who served during the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars. Samuel Cash (1790-1866) was an English Quaker minister and writer known for his works on religious subjects.
In the 20th century, one of the most famous individuals with the surname Cash was Johnny Cash (1932-2003), the legendary American singer-songwriter and musician who was known as the "Man in Black." His contributions to country, rock, and folk music genres have earned him a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Other notable individuals with the surname Cash include Rosanne Cash (born 1955), an American singer-songwriter and the eldest daughter of Johnny Cash, and Bill Cash (born 1940), a British politician and member of the Conservative Party who has served as a Member of Parliament since 1984.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cash
Among Census respondents with the surname Cash, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.2%. The next largest groups are Black (14.9%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Cash 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 Cash surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.2% · 21,592
- Black or African American14.9% · 4,292
- Two or more races4.5% · 1,303
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 1,113
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 212
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 203
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cash
Cash 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
#1,200
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,476
+904 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 9.99
Rank movement Down 77 places
2020
#1,200
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 28,715
-761 bearers (-2.6%)
Per 100,000 9.61
Rank movement No rank change
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,123 | 28,572 | 10.59 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,200 | 29,476 | 9.99 | +904 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 77 places |
| 2020 | #1,200 | 28,715 | 9.61 | -761 bearers (-2.6%) | No rank change |
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 Cash 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 | #1,200 | #1,200 | 0.0% |
| Count | 29,476 | 28,715 | -2.6% |
| Per 100K | 9.99 | 9.61 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cash bearers went from 29,476 to 28,715 (-2.6% change). The surname held its position in the national ranking, remaining at #1,200.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Cash
FAQ
Cash surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cash?
Name Census estimates that about 32,928 living Americans carry the surname Cash. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 10,409 residents.
How common is Cash?
Cash ranks #1,200 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 9.61 per 100,000 residents, which is about 10 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 28,715 people with the surname Cash. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (32,928), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 9.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 9.61 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 10 of them to have the surname Cash.
Has Cash become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cash went from 29,476 recorded bearers to 28,715. That is a decrease of 761 (-2.6%). In the national ranking it stayed at #1,200.
What does the Census say about the background of Cash?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cash, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.2%. The next largest groups are Black (14.9%) 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 Cash in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.2% (21,592 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cash appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.2%), Black (14.9%), 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 Cash (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 Cash mean?
An occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of chests, boxes, or containers. 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 Cash (9.61 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 Cash?
See how many people have the surname Cash on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.