2000
#627
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 49,241
First available Census row
Per 100,000 18.25
Uncommon Last name
Glenn
A surname of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic word "gleann" meaning valley or glen.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 55,672 Americans carry the last name Glenn. That puts it at #686 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 16.24 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 6,157 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Glenn 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 Glenn with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
56K
1 in 6,157
Census rank
#686
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
16.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
49K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 48,549 bearers of the surname Glenn in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 16.24 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 686th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Glenn, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.0%. The next largest groups are Black (31.8%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Glenn
The surname Glenn has its origins in the Scottish Gaelic language and is thought to have derived from the personal name Gille Fhionndain, meaning "servant of St. Findan". The name traces back to the 6th century when St. Findan, a Scottish missionary, traveled and preached across Ireland and Scotland.
The earliest known recorded instance of the name Glenn dates back to the 13th century, appearing in the Ancient Records of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. In these records, the name is spelled as "de Glyn" and "de Glen". The spelling variations are likely due to the anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic name.
In the 15th century, the name appeared in the historic Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, which were administrative records of the Scottish government. The name was recorded as "Glene" and "Glenne" during this time period.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Glenn was Sir John de Glen, a Scottish knight who fought alongside Robert the Bruce in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century.
Another prominent figure was Alexander Glenn, a Scottish clergyman born in 1720, who served as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1768.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the Glenn surname can be found in the colonial records of Pennsylvania. James Glenn, a Scottish immigrant, arrived in Philadelphia in 1730 and later settled in what is now West Virginia.
John Glenn, the famous American astronaut and U.S. Senator, was born in 1921 and was the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962. He passed away in 2016 at the age of 95.
Another notable individual with the surname Glenn was Brigadier General Hugh Glenn, a highly decorated American military officer who fought in World War II and the Korean War. He was born in 1905 and passed away in 1980.
The name Glenn has also been associated with several place names throughout history, including the Scottish town of Glen and the U.S. state of Georgia's Glenn County, which was named after John Glenn, the astronaut.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Glenn
Among Census respondents with the surname Glenn, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.0%. The next largest groups are Black (31.8%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Glenn 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 Glenn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.0% · 28,636
- Black or African American31.8% · 15,443
- Two or more races4.8% · 2,312
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 1,607
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 281
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 270
Timeline
Historical Census data for Glenn
Glenn 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
#669
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 51,043
+1,802 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 17.30
Rank movement Down 42 places
2020
#686
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 48,549
-2,494 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 16.24
Rank movement Down 17 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #627 | 49,241 | 18.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #669 | 51,043 | 17.30 | +1,802 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 42 places |
| 2020 | #686 | 48,549 | 16.24 | -2,494 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 17 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 Glenn 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 | #669 | #686 | -2.5% |
| Count | 51,043 | 48,549 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 17.30 | 16.24 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Glenn bearers went from 51,043 to 48,549 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 17 positions in the national ranking, going from #669 to #686.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Glenn
FAQ
Glenn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Glenn?
Name Census estimates that about 55,672 living Americans carry the surname Glenn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 6,157 residents.
How common is Glenn?
Glenn ranks #686 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 16.24 per 100,000 residents, which is about 16 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 48,549 people with the surname Glenn. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (55,672), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 16.24 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 16.24 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 16 of them to have the surname Glenn.
Has Glenn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Glenn went from 51,043 recorded bearers to 48,549. That is a decrease of 2,494 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #669 to #686.
What does the Census say about the background of Glenn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Glenn, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.0%. The next largest groups are Black (31.8%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Glenn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.0% (28,636 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Glenn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (59.0%), Black (31.8%), Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Glenn (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 Glenn mean?
A surname of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic word "gleann" meaning valley or glen. 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 Glenn (16.24 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 Glenn?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.