2000
#12,430
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,290
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Flippin
An English surname possibly denoting someone who was prone to outbursts of anger or frustration.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,452 Americans carry the last name Flippin. That puts it at #13,583 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 139,786 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Flippin 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
2.5K
1 in 139,786
Census rank
#13,583
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,138 bearers of the surname Flippin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13583rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Flippin, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.4%. The next largest groups are Black (15.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Flippin
The surname Flippin is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. The name is thought to be derived from the Old English word "flīp," which meant "to stumble" or "to trip." It may have been an occupational surname given to someone who was particularly clumsy or accident-prone.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Flippin name dates back to the late 13th century, when a William Flippen was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275. In the 14th century, the surname appeared in various spellings, such as Flippen, Flippyn, and Flypyn, indicating the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling at the time.
The Flippin name can also be traced back to several place names in England, such as Flippingdale in Yorkshire and Flipping in Derbyshire. These place names may have influenced the development of the surname, as people often adopted surnames based on the places they lived or came from.
In the 16th century, the Flippin name appears in the Parish Registers of St. Mary's Church in Nottingham, where a Thomas Flippin was recorded in 1530. Another notable figure with this surname was Sir William Flippin (1547-1620), a wealthy landowner and Member of Parliament for Nottinghamshire during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Other notable individuals with the Flippin surname include:
1. John Flippin (1599-1670), an English politician and member of the Long Parliament during the English Civil War.
2. Samuel Flippin (1662-1723), a British clergyman and author who wrote several theological works.
3. Mary Flippin (1703-1789), an American pioneer and early settler in Virginia.
4. James Flippin (1819-1891), an American Baptist minister and educator who founded Flippin Female Academy in Arkansas.
5. William Flippin (1865-1932), an American baseball player who played for several teams in the late 19th century.
The Flippin surname has spread across various parts of the world, particularly in the United States, Australia, and Canada, due to migration and immigration from England over the centuries. While the name may have evolved in spelling and pronunciation, its origins can be traced back to the medieval period in England.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Flippin
Among Census respondents with the surname Flippin, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.4%. The next largest groups are Black (15.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Flippin 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 Flippin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.4% · 1,634
- Black or African American15.7% · 335
- Two or more races4.2% · 90
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Flippin
Flippin 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
#16,781
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,702
-588 bearers (-25.7%)
Per 100,000 0.58
Rank movement Down 4,351 places
2020
#13,583
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,138
+436 bearers (+25.6%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Up 3,198 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,430 | 2,290 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,781 | 1,702 | 0.58 | -588 bearers (-25.7%) | Down 4,351 places |
| 2020 | #13,583 | 2,138 | 0.72 | +436 bearers (+25.6%) | Up 3,198 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 Flippin 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 | #16,781 | #13,583 | 19.1% |
| Count | 1,702 | 2,138 | 25.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.58 | 0.72 | 23.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Flippin bearers went from 1,702 to 2,138 (+25.6% change). The surname moved up 3,198 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,781 to #13,583.
FAQ
Flippin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Flippin?
Name Census estimates that about 2,452 living Americans carry the surname Flippin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 139,786 residents.
How common is Flippin?
Flippin ranks #13,583 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.72 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 2,138 people with the surname Flippin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,452), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.72 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 Flippin.
Has Flippin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Flippin went from 1,702 recorded bearers to 2,138. That is an increase of 436 (+25.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,781 to #13,583.
What does the Census say about the background of Flippin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Flippin, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.4%. The next largest groups are Black (15.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Flippin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.4% (1,634 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Flippin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.4%), Black (15.7%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Flippin (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 Flippin mean?
An English surname possibly denoting someone who was prone to outbursts of anger or frustration. 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 Flippin (0.72 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 Flippin?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.