2000
#1,998
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,652
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.17
Uncommon Last name
Flood
An Irish surname referring to someone who lived near a body of water or on a floodplain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 19,008 Americans carry the last name Flood. That puts it at #2,124 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.55 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 18,032 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Flood 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 Flood with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
19K
1 in 18,032
Census rank
#2,124
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,576 bearers of the surname Flood in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.55 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2124th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Flood, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.6%. The next largest groups are Black (13.9%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Flood
The surname FLOOD has its origins in England and is derived from the Old English word 'flod', meaning a stream or river. It likely originated as a topographic name for someone who lived near a body of water, such as a river or stream.
The name FLOOD first appeared in historical records in the late 12th century. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Richard de la Flode, mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire in 1199.
During the Middle Ages, the name FLOOD was found in various parts of England, including Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Suffolk. It was also recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a surname in the counties of Cambridgeshire and Suffolk.
In the 13th and 14th centuries, the name FLOOD was often spelled with varying forms, such as Flud, Flude, and Fludd. These variations were likely due to the inconsistencies in spelling and pronunciation during that time period.
Notable individuals with the surname FLOOD throughout history include:
1. Robert Fludd (1574-1637), an English philosopher, doctor, and prominent member of the Rosicrucian movement.
2. Thomas Flood (c. 1585-1616), an English Catholic priest and martyr who was executed during the reign of James I.
3. John Flood (1743-1792), an Irish-born American soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
4. Sir Frederick Flood (1741-1825), an Irish politician and member of the Irish House of Commons.
5. Henry D. Flood (1865-1921), an American lawyer and politician who served as governor of Virginia from 1914 to 1918.
The FLOOD surname has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Floodgate Street in Birmingham and Flood's Ferry in Yorkshire, which likely derived their names from individuals bearing the FLOOD surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Flood
Among Census respondents with the surname Flood, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.6%. The next largest groups are Black (13.9%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Flood 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 Flood surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.6% · 12,704
- Black or African American13.9% · 2,306
- Two or more races3.8% · 634
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 625
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 168
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 139
Timeline
Historical Census data for Flood
Flood 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
#2,125
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,053
+401 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 5.78
Rank movement Down 127 places
2020
#2,124
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,576
-477 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 5.55
Rank movement Up 1 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,998 | 16,652 | 6.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,125 | 17,053 | 5.78 | +401 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 127 places |
| 2020 | #2,124 | 16,576 | 5.55 | -477 bearers (-2.8%) | Up 1 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 Flood 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 | #2,125 | #2,124 | 0.0% |
| Count | 17,053 | 16,576 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 5.78 | 5.55 | -4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Flood bearers went from 17,053 to 16,576 (-2.8% change). The surname moved up 1 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,125 to #2,124.
FAQ
Flood surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Flood?
Name Census estimates that about 19,008 living Americans carry the surname Flood. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 18,032 residents.
How common is Flood?
Flood ranks #2,124 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.55 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,576 people with the surname Flood. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (19,008), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.55 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.55 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Flood.
Has Flood become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Flood went from 17,053 recorded bearers to 16,576. That is a decrease of 477 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,125 to #2,124.
What does the Census say about the background of Flood?
Among Census respondents with the surname Flood, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.6%. The next largest groups are Black (13.9%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Flood in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.6% (12,704 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Flood appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.6%), Black (13.9%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Flood (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 Flood mean?
An Irish surname referring to someone who lived near a body of water or on a floodplain. 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 Flood (5.55 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 Americans have the surname Flood?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.