2000
#15,317
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,761
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.65
Rare Last name
Eccleston
A habitational name from a place so named in Lancashire, derived from the Old English 'ecclestun' meaning "church town".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,116 Americans carry the last name Eccleston. That puts it at #15,318 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 161,982 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Eccleston 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 Eccleston with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 161,982
Census rank
#15,318
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,845 bearers of the surname Eccleston in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15318th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Eccleston, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.4%. The next largest groups are Black (19.5%) and Hispanic (5.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Eccleston
The surname Eccleston is an English locational name derived from the place name Eccleston, which is found in Lancashire and other parts of northern England. The name is believed to have originated in the 12th century, deriving from the Old English words "ecclesia" meaning church and "tun" meaning an enclosure or settlement.
The earliest recorded instance of the Eccleston surname can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Eclestone" in Lancashire. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the area by the time of the Norman Conquest.
During the medieval period, the Ecclestons were a prominent landowning family in Lancashire, with their ancestral home located in the village of Eccleston near Chorley. Several members of the family held important positions in the local government and church throughout the centuries.
One notable figure was Sir Henry Eccleston, who served as the Sheriff of Lancashire in the late 15th century. His son, also named Henry, was involved in the Wars of the Roses and fought alongside the Lancastrian forces at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.
Another prominent Eccleston was Thomas Eccleston, a 13th-century Franciscan friar and historian. He wrote a chronicle of the early years of the Franciscan Order, providing valuable insights into the life and teachings of St. Francis of Assisi.
In the 17th century, the Ecclestons played a role in the English Civil War, with some members supporting the Royalist cause and others siding with the Parliamentarians. One such figure was Richard Eccleston, a Parliamentarian colonel who fought in several battles during the conflict.
The Eccleston surname also has connections to the village of Eccleston in Cheshire, which was once home to a branch of the family. This village was mentioned in the Domesday Book as "Eclestone," further cementing the name's historical roots.
Other notable individuals with the Eccleston surname include:
1. Christopher Eccleston (born 1964), an English actor known for his roles in films and television shows such as Doctor Who and The A Word.
2. Nirad C. Chaudhuri (1897-1999), an Indian writer and scholar born as Nirad Chandra Eccleston before changing his surname.
3. William Eccleston (1750-1809), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Wigan.
4. John Eccleston (1555-1616), an English Roman Catholic priest and martyr who was executed during the reign of King James I.
5. Thomas Eccleston (1802-1883), an English civil engineer and surveyor who worked on several railway projects in the 19th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eccleston
Among Census respondents with the surname Eccleston, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.4%. The next largest groups are Black (19.5%) and Hispanic (5.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Eccleston 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 Eccleston surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.4% · 1,317
- Black or African American19.5% · 360
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 107
- Two or more races2.9% · 53
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Eccleston
Eccleston 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
#15,541
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,883
+122 bearers (+6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Down 224 places
2020
#15,318
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,845
-38 bearers (-2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Up 223 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,317 | 1,761 | 0.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,541 | 1,883 | 0.64 | +122 bearers (+6.9%) | Down 224 places |
| 2020 | #15,318 | 1,845 | 0.62 | -38 bearers (-2.0%) | Up 223 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 Eccleston 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 | #15,541 | #15,318 | 1.4% |
| Count | 1,883 | 1,845 | -2.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.64 | 0.62 | -3.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Eccleston bearers went from 1,883 to 1,845 (-2.0% change). The surname moved up 223 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,541 to #15,318.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Eccleston
FAQ
Eccleston surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Eccleston?
Name Census estimates that about 2,116 living Americans carry the surname Eccleston. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 161,982 residents.
How common is Eccleston?
Eccleston ranks #15,318 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,845 people with the surname Eccleston. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.62 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Eccleston.
Has Eccleston become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Eccleston went from 1,883 recorded bearers to 1,845. That is a decrease of 38 (-2.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,541 to #15,318.
What does the Census say about the background of Eccleston?
Among Census respondents with the surname Eccleston, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.4%. The next largest groups are Black (19.5%) and Hispanic (5.8%). 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 Eccleston in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.4% (1,317 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Eccleston appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (71.4%), Black (19.5%), Hispanic (5.8%). 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 Eccleston (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 Eccleston mean?
A habitational name from a place so named in Lancashire, derived from the Old English 'ecclestun' meaning "church town". 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 Eccleston (0.62 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 Eccleston?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.