2000
#1,387
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,409
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.68
Uncommon Last name
Crowder
An occupational surname referring to a person who crowds or herds animals, or a maker of crowding implements.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 26,423 Americans carry the last name Crowder. That puts it at #1,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 12,972 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Crowder 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 Crowder with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
26K
1 in 12,972
Census rank
#1,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
23K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 23,042 bearers of the surname Crowder in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Crowder, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.5%. The next largest groups are Black (26.8%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Crowder
The surname Crowder is believed to have originated in England, and its earliest records date back to the 13th century. The name is derived from the Old English word "crawan," which means "crow," and the occupational suffix "-er." This suggests that the name was initially given to someone who tended to or caught crows.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Crowder surname is found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, where it appears as "Croudere." The name also appears in various spellings, such as "Crouder" and "Crovder," in other historical documents from the 14th and 15th centuries.
In the 16th century, the Crowder surname was associated with several place names in England, including Crowder Hall in Lancashire and Crowder's Moor in Yorkshire. These place names likely derived from individuals with the Crowder surname who lived or owned land in those areas.
One notable figure with the Crowder surname was William Crowder (1548-1617), an English clergyman and author. He was born in Somerset and served as the rector of St. Giles' Church in Cripplegate, London.
Another prominent individual was John Crowder (1737-1811), an English Wesleyan minister and writer. He was born in Yorkshire and played a significant role in the Methodist movement, authoring several religious works.
In the 19th century, the Crowder surname gained recognition through the work of Henry Lewis Crowder (1844-1927), an American lawyer and politician. He served as a judge and was appointed as the first civil governor of the Philippines during the American occupation.
The name Crowder also has connections to the literary world through the American novelist and short story writer John Crowder (1912-2001). He was born in North Carolina and is best known for his novel "Little Bastard" and his short story collection "Novelettes."
A more recent figure with the Crowder surname is Ethan Crowder (born 1969), an American actor and comedian. He has appeared in several television shows and films, including "The Wire" and "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Crowder
Among Census respondents with the surname Crowder, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.5%. The next largest groups are Black (26.8%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Crowder 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 Crowder surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.5% · 14,859
- Black or African American26.8% · 6,170
- Two or more races4.6% · 1,071
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 718
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 116
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 108
Timeline
Historical Census data for Crowder
Crowder 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
#1,460
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,396
+987 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 8.27
Rank movement Down 73 places
2020
#1,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,042
-1,354 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 7.71
Rank movement Down 51 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,387 | 23,409 | 8.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,460 | 24,396 | 8.27 | +987 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 73 places |
| 2020 | #1,511 | 23,042 | 7.71 | -1,354 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 51 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 Crowder 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 | #1,460 | #1,511 | -3.5% |
| Count | 24,396 | 23,042 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 8.27 | 7.71 | -6.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Crowder bearers went from 24,396 to 23,042 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 51 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,460 to #1,511.
FAQ
Crowder surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Crowder?
Name Census estimates that about 26,423 living Americans carry the surname Crowder. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 12,972 residents.
How common is Crowder?
Crowder ranks #1,511 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.71 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 23,042 people with the surname Crowder. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (26,423), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.71 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Crowder.
Has Crowder become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Crowder went from 24,396 recorded bearers to 23,042. That is a decrease of 1,354 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,460 to #1,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Crowder?
Among Census respondents with the surname Crowder, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.5%. The next largest groups are Black (26.8%) 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 Crowder in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.5% (14,859 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Crowder appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (64.5%), Black (26.8%), 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 Crowder (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 Crowder mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who crowds or herds animals, or a maker of crowding implements. 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 Crowder (7.71 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 surname Crowder?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.