2000
#107
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 194,331
First available Census row
Per 100,000 72.04
Common Last name
Hamilton
A locational surname referring to a town in Leicestershire or South Lanarkshire, derived from Old English for "crooked hill."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 222,981 Americans carry the last name Hamilton. That puts it at #122 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 65.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,537 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hamilton 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 Hamilton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
223K
1 in 1,537
Census rank
#122
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
65.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
194K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 194,450 bearers of the surname Hamilton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 65.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 122nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hamilton, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.5%. The next largest groups are Black (23.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hamilton
The surname Hamilton has its origins in the medieval Anglo-Scottish Borderlands. It is derived from the Old English words 'hamel' meaning a homestead or crooked habitation, and 'tun' meaning an enclosure or farmstead. The name likely refers to a specific place, perhaps a hamlet or farm where the earliest bearers of the name resided.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of homage rolls documenting fealty pledged to King Edward I of England. The rolls mention a Walter de Hambeldonne, thought to be an early spelling variation of Hamilton. Another early spelling variation found in records is 'Hameldon'.
The Hamilton surname is also closely associated with the town of Hamilton in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The town's name is believed to have originated from the same Old English roots as the surname, and it is likely that the earliest bearers of the Hamilton name hailed from this area.
One of the most notable historical figures with the Hamilton surname is Sir William Hamilton, born in 1788 and died in 1856. He was a renowned Scottish antiquarian and diplomat who served as the British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Born in 1755 or 1757 in the British West Indies, he served as the first United States Secretary of the Treasury under President George Washington.
In the literary world, the Hamilton surname was borne by Edith Hamilton, an American educator and writer born in 1867 and died in 1963. She is best known for her works on Greek mythology and ancient civilizations.
The name Hamilton has also been associated with nobility and landed gentry. One example is James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn, born in 1869 and died in 1953. He was a British nobleman and landowner who served as the Governor of Northern Ireland from 1922 to 1945.
Another notable figure is Sir Ian Hamilton, a British Army officer born in 1853 and died in 1947. He commanded the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force during the Gallipoli Campaign of World War I.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hamilton
Among Census respondents with the surname Hamilton, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.5%. The next largest groups are Black (23.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Hamilton 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 Hamilton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.5% · 131,180
- Black or African American23.2% · 45,085
- Two or more races4.4% · 8,634
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 6,859
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1,365
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 1,327
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hamilton
Hamilton 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
#119
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 201,746
+7,415 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 68.39
Rank movement Down 12 places
2020
#122
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 194,450
-7,296 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 65.06
Rank movement Down 3 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #107 | 194,331 | 72.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #119 | 201,746 | 68.39 | +7,415 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 12 places |
| 2020 | #122 | 194,450 | 65.06 | -7,296 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 3 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 Hamilton 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 | #119 | #122 | -2.5% |
| Count | 201,746 | 194,450 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 68.39 | 65.06 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hamilton bearers went from 201,746 to 194,450 (-3.6% change). The surname moved down 3 positions in the national ranking, going from #119 to #122.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hamilton
FAQ
Hamilton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hamilton?
Name Census estimates that about 222,981 living Americans carry the surname Hamilton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,537 residents.
How common is Hamilton?
Hamilton ranks #122 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 65.06 per 100,000 residents, which is about 65 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 194,450 people with the surname Hamilton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (222,981), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 65.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 65.06 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 65 of them to have the surname Hamilton.
Has Hamilton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hamilton went from 201,746 recorded bearers to 194,450. That is a decrease of 7,296 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #119 to #122.
What does the Census say about the background of Hamilton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hamilton, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.5%. The next largest groups are Black (23.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Hamilton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.5% (131,180 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hamilton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (67.5%), Black (23.2%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Hamilton (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 Hamilton mean?
A locational surname referring to a town in Leicestershire or South Lanarkshire, derived from Old English for "crooked hill." 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 Hamilton (65.06 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 Hamilton?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.