2000
#5,384
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,956
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.21
Rare Last name
Catron
A French occupational surname referring to a cart or wagon driver, derived from the Old French "chareton."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,498 Americans carry the last name Catron. That puts it at #5,870 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.90 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 52,748 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Catron 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.
Bearers in the US
6.5K
1 in 52,748
Census rank
#5,870
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,667 bearers of the surname Catron in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.90 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5870th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Catron, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Black (8.7%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Catron
The surname Catron has its origins in France and dates back to the early medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old French word "caterene," which referred to a small hut or cottage. This suggests that the name may have initially been used as a descriptive surname for someone who lived in a modest dwelling.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Catron can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings and properties in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The entry mentions a landowner named Willelmus Cateranus, which is likely a variation of the name Catron.
As the name spread across Europe, various spellings emerged, including Cateron, Catron, and Catrone. These variations can be found in historical records from France, England, and other regions where the name took root.
One notable individual bearing the Catron name was Sir John Catron, a French knight who fought alongside Richard the Lionheart during the Third Crusade in the late 12th century. Another early example is Jacques Catron, a French scholar and theologian who lived from 1637 to 1718 and authored several works on religious history.
In the 17th century, the Catron name appeared in England, with records showing a Thomas Catron born in 1662 in Gloucestershire. Meanwhile, in the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name is William Catron, who was born in Virginia in 1742 and served as a soldier during the American Revolutionary War.
Other notable individuals with the surname Catron include John C. Catron (1786-1865), an American judge who served on the Tennessee Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court, and George E. Catron (1874-1954), a American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from New Mexico.
Throughout history, the surname Catron has also been associated with various place names, such as Catron, a village in Gwynedd, Wales, and Catron, a community in Missouri, United States, which may have been named after an early settler with the same surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Catron
Among Census respondents with the surname Catron, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Black (8.7%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Catron 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 Catron surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.6% · 4,513
- Black or African American8.7% · 491
- Two or more races4.9% · 280
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.5% · 200
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 163
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Catron
Catron 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
#5,356
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,501
+545 bearers (+9.2%)
Per 100,000 2.20
Rank movement Up 28 places
2020
#5,870
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,667
-834 bearers (-12.8%)
Per 100,000 1.90
Rank movement Down 514 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,384 | 5,956 | 2.21 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,356 | 6,501 | 2.20 | +545 bearers (+9.2%) | Up 28 places |
| 2020 | #5,870 | 5,667 | 1.90 | -834 bearers (-12.8%) | Down 514 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 Catron 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 | #5,356 | #5,870 | -9.6% |
| Count | 6,501 | 5,667 | -12.8% |
| Per 100K | 2.20 | 1.90 | -13.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Catron bearers went from 6,501 to 5,667 (-12.8% change). The surname moved down 514 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,356 to #5,870.
FAQ
Catron surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Catron?
Name Census estimates that about 6,498 living Americans carry the surname Catron. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 52,748 residents.
How common is Catron?
Catron ranks #5,870 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.90 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,667 people with the surname Catron. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,498), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.9 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.90 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Catron.
Has Catron become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Catron went from 6,501 recorded bearers to 5,667. That is a decrease of 834 (-12.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,356 to #5,870.
What does the Census say about the background of Catron?
Among Census respondents with the surname Catron, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Black (8.7%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Catron in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.6% (4,513 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Catron appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.6%), Black (8.7%), Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Catron (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 Catron mean?
A French occupational surname referring to a cart or wagon driver, derived from the Old French "chareton." 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 Catron (1.90 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 are called Catron?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Catron at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.