2000
#469
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 64,141
First available Census row
Per 100,000 23.78
Uncommon Last name
Floyd
Of Welsh origin, derived from the personal name "Llwyd," meaning "gray" or "gray-haired."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 72,673 Americans carry the last name Floyd. That puts it at #520 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 21.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 4,716 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Floyd 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 Floyd with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
73K
1 in 4,716
Census rank
#520
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
21.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
63K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 63,374 bearers of the surname Floyd in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 21.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 520th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Floyd, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.6%. The next largest groups are Black (28.4%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Floyd
The surname Floyd is of English origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word "flod," meaning "flood" or "stream." The name likely referred to someone who lived near a river or other body of water.
In the 13th century, the name is recorded as "Flod" in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire, England. The Hundred Rolls were administrative records of landholders compiled between 1273 and 1275, providing early evidence of the name's use.
By the late 13th century, the name had evolved to its modern spelling, "Floyd." The earliest known record of this spelling is found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275, which lists a person named "Robertus Floyd."
The name Floyd is also associated with several place names in England, such as Floyd's Green in Staffordshire and Floyd's Park in Buckinghamshire. These place names likely originated from individuals bearing the surname who lived in or owned those areas.
Notable historical figures with the surname Floyd include:
1. Sir John Floyd (c. 1480 - 1541), an English soldier and Member of Parliament during the reign of Henry VIII.
2. Edward Floyd (1587 - 1670), one of the original settlers of the Virginia Colony and a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses.
3. William Floyd (1734 - 1821), an American Revolutionary War general and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence.
4. John Floyd (1783 - 1837), an American surveyor, explorer, and the first governor of the Virginia Territory (now the state of Washington).
5. John Buchanan Floyd (1806 - 1863), an American politician who served as the 33rd Governor of Virginia and as the Secretary of War under President James Buchanan.
The surname Floyd has a rich history dating back to medieval England, with its origins rooted in Old English vocabulary related to bodies of water. Over the centuries, it has been carried by notable individuals across various fields, from politics and military to exploration and settlement.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Floyd
Among Census respondents with the surname Floyd, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.6%. The next largest groups are Black (28.4%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Floyd 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 Floyd surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.6% · 39,664
- Black or African American28.4% · 17,998
- Two or more races5.0% · 3,165
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 1,836
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 363
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 348
Timeline
Historical Census data for Floyd
Floyd 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
#505
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 66,454
+2,313 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 22.53
Rank movement Down 36 places
2020
#520
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 63,374
-3,080 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 21.20
Rank movement Down 15 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #469 | 64,141 | 23.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #505 | 66,454 | 22.53 | +2,313 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 36 places |
| 2020 | #520 | 63,374 | 21.20 | -3,080 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 15 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 Floyd 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 | #505 | #520 | -3.0% |
| Count | 66,454 | 63,374 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 22.53 | 21.20 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Floyd bearers went from 66,454 to 63,374 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 15 positions in the national ranking, going from #505 to #520.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Floyd
FAQ
Floyd surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Floyd?
Name Census estimates that about 72,673 living Americans carry the surname Floyd. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 4,716 residents.
How common is Floyd?
Floyd ranks #520 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 21.20 per 100,000 residents, which is about 21 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 63,374 people with the surname Floyd. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (72,673), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 21.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 21.20 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 21 of them to have the surname Floyd.
Has Floyd become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Floyd went from 66,454 recorded bearers to 63,374. That is a decrease of 3,080 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #505 to #520.
What does the Census say about the background of Floyd?
Among Census respondents with the surname Floyd, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.6%. The next largest groups are Black (28.4%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Floyd in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.6% (39,664 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Floyd appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (62.6%), Black (28.4%), Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Floyd (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 Floyd mean?
Of Welsh origin, derived from the personal name "Llwyd," meaning "gray" or "gray-haired." 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 Floyd (21.20 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 Floyd?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.