2000
#1,056
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 30,233
First available Census row
Per 100,000 11.21
Uncommon Last name
Cleveland
A locational surname referring to someone from the city of Cleveland or the Cleveland district in England.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 34,327 Americans carry the last name Cleveland. That puts it at #1,151 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 10.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 9,985 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cleveland 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 Cleveland with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
34K
1 in 9,985
Census rank
#1,151
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
10.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
30K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 29,935 bearers of the surname Cleveland in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 10.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1151st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cleveland, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.3%. The next largest groups are Black (24.5%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cleveland
The surname Cleveland originated in England, deriving from the place name "Cleveland" which refers to a hilly region in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The name is thought to have derived from the Old English words "clif" meaning cliff or hill, and "land" meaning land or territory.
Records show that the Cleveland surname first appeared in the late 11th century, shortly after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. One of the earliest known references to the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners in England after the Norman invasion.
The Cleveland name can be traced back to the village of Cleveland, located in the North Riding of Yorkshire. This village was likely named after the surrounding hilly region it was situated in. Over time, people from the Cleveland area adopted the place name as their surname.
In the 13th century, there are records of a Richard de Cleveland who was a prominent landowner in Yorkshire. Another early bearer of the name was John de Cleveland, who was born around 1330 and served as a knight during the Hundred Years' War.
One of the most famous individuals with the Cleveland surname was Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President of the United States, who was born in 1837 and served as president from 1885 to 1889, and again from 1893 to 1897.
Other notable individuals with the Cleveland surname include:
1. Benjamin Cleveland (1738-1806), an American Revolutionary War soldier and militia leader.
2. Moses Cleveland (1754-1806), an American surveyor and founder of the city of Cleveland, Ohio.
3. John Cleveland (1613-1658), an English poet and satirist during the English Civil War.
4. Samuel Cleveland (1837-1915), an American businessman and philanthropist, who co-founded the Cleveland Twist Drill Company.
Throughout history, variations in the spelling of the Cleveland surname have included Cleaveland, Clevland, and Clyveland, often reflecting regional dialects and variations in pronunciation.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cleveland
Among Census respondents with the surname Cleveland, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.3%. The next largest groups are Black (24.5%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Cleveland 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 Cleveland surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.3% · 19,239
- Black or African American24.5% · 7,328
- Two or more races4.6% · 1,377
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 931
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.8% · 839
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 221
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cleveland
Cleveland 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
#1,127
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 31,123
+890 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 10.55
Rank movement Down 71 places
2020
#1,151
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,935
-1,188 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 10.02
Rank movement Down 24 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,056 | 30,233 | 11.21 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,127 | 31,123 | 10.55 | +890 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 71 places |
| 2020 | #1,151 | 29,935 | 10.02 | -1,188 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 24 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 Cleveland 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 | #1,127 | #1,151 | -2.1% |
| Count | 31,123 | 29,935 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 10.55 | 10.02 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cleveland bearers went from 31,123 to 29,935 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 24 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,127 to #1,151.
FAQ
Cleveland surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cleveland?
Name Census estimates that about 34,327 living Americans carry the surname Cleveland. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 9,985 residents.
How common is Cleveland?
Cleveland ranks #1,151 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 10.02 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 29,935 people with the surname Cleveland. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (34,327), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 10.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 10.02 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 Cleveland.
Has Cleveland become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cleveland went from 31,123 recorded bearers to 29,935. That is a decrease of 1,188 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,127 to #1,151.
What does the Census say about the background of Cleveland?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cleveland, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.3%. The next largest groups are Black (24.5%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Cleveland in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.3% (19,239 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cleveland appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (64.3%), Black (24.5%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Cleveland (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 Cleveland mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from the city of Cleveland or the Cleveland district in England. 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 Cleveland (10.02 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 share the surname Cleveland?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.