2000
#2,118
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,714
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.83
Uncommon Last name
Clinton
A place name derived from Old English meaning "settlement on the summit or slope of a hill."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,906 Americans carry the last name Clinton. That puts it at #2,274 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.22 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,142 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Clinton 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 Clinton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
18K
1 in 19,142
Census rank
#2,274
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,615 bearers of the surname Clinton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.22 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2274th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Clinton, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.9%. The next largest groups are Black (27.1%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Clinton
The surname Clinton is believed to have originated in England during the Anglo-Saxon period. It is derived from the Old English words "clun" or "clin," which meant a hill or ridge, and "tun," meaning a town or settlement. Thus, the name Clinton originally referred to someone who lived in a town situated on a hill or ridge.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Clinton can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of landholdings commissioned by William the Conqueror. The Domesday Book lists several individuals with the surname Clinton or variations like Clintone or Clyntone, indicating that the name was already established in various parts of England by the late 11th century.
The surname Clinton has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was Roger de Clinton, a prominent nobleman and landowner who lived during the reign of King Henry II in the 12th century. Another early bearer of the name was John de Clinton, who served as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and fought in the Battle of Crecy during the Hundred Years' War in the 14th century.
In the 16th century, Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln (1512-1585), was a prominent courtier and military commander who served under King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I. His descendant, Henry Clinton (1730-1795), was a British army officer who played a significant role in the American Revolutionary War, serving as a commander in several major battles.
Another famous bearer of the surname was Sir Henry Clinton (1771-1829), a British politician and military officer who served as Governor of Gibraltar and later as Governor-General of British North America during the early 19th century.
George Clinton (1739-1812), an American soldier and statesman, was a founding father of the United States and served as the fourth Vice President under Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. He also had a distinguished military career during the American Revolutionary War.
Over the centuries, the surname Clinton has been associated with various place names in England, such as Clinton in Oxfordshire, Clintone in Buckinghamshire, and Clynton in Nottinghamshire, among others. While the spelling has evolved over time, the name's connection to its Old English roots and its association with hilltop settlements remains evident.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Clinton
Among Census respondents with the surname Clinton, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.9%. The next largest groups are Black (27.1%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Clinton 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 Clinton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.9% · 9,660
- Black or African American27.1% · 4,235
- Two or more races4.8% · 757
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 605
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 193
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 165
Timeline
Historical Census data for Clinton
Clinton 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
#2,242
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,263
+549 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 5.51
Rank movement Down 124 places
2020
#2,274
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,615
-648 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 5.22
Rank movement Down 32 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,118 | 15,714 | 5.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,242 | 16,263 | 5.51 | +549 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 124 places |
| 2020 | #2,274 | 15,615 | 5.22 | -648 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 32 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 Clinton 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 | #2,242 | #2,274 | -1.4% |
| Count | 16,263 | 15,615 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 5.51 | 5.22 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Clinton bearers went from 16,263 to 15,615 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 32 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,242 to #2,274.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Clinton
FAQ
Clinton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Clinton?
Name Census estimates that about 17,906 living Americans carry the surname Clinton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,142 residents.
How common is Clinton?
Clinton ranks #2,274 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.22 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,615 people with the surname Clinton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,906), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.22 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.22 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Clinton.
Has Clinton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Clinton went from 16,263 recorded bearers to 15,615. That is a decrease of 648 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,242 to #2,274.
What does the Census say about the background of Clinton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Clinton, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.9%. The next largest groups are Black (27.1%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Clinton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.9% (9,660 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Clinton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (61.9%), Black (27.1%), Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Clinton (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 Clinton mean?
A place name derived from Old English meaning "settlement on the summit or slope of a hill." 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 Clinton (5.22 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 Clinton?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Clinton, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.