2000
#1,857
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,785
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.59
Uncommon Last name
Humphries
From the Old French personal name Humfrey, meaning "peaceful warrior" or "home peace."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 19,562 Americans carry the last name Humphries. That puts it at #2,065 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 17,521 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Humphries 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 Humphries with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
20K
1 in 17,521
Census rank
#2,065
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 17,059 bearers of the surname Humphries in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2065th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Humphries, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Humphries
The surname HUMPHRIES is of English origin, derived from the medieval given name Humphrey. This name is thought to have originated from the Old German name Hunfrid, meaning "peaceful traveler" or "home ruler."
The earliest recorded use of the surname HUMPHRIES dates back to the 12th century, with references found in various historical documents and records from counties like Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, and Somerset in England. It is believed that the name may have been initially adopted by individuals who were the sons or descendants of someone named Humphrey.
One of the earliest known bearers of the HUMPHRIES surname was Sir Humphrey de Bohun, a prominent English nobleman and military commander who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. He played a significant role in the Barons' War against King John and was present at the sealing of the Magna Carta in 1215.
Another notable HUMPHRIES was John Humphries, a wealthy merchant and landowner from Bristol, England, who lived in the 15th century. He is recorded as having donated substantial sums of money towards the construction of several churches and public buildings in the city.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the HUMPHRIES surname was well-established in various parts of England, particularly in the counties of Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, and Somerset. Several variations in spelling, such as Humfries, Humfryes, and Humphryes, were also found in historical records.
One of the earliest known literary references to the HUMPHRIES surname can be found in the works of William Shakespeare. In his play "Henry IV, Part 1," there is a character named Humphrey, who is referred to as "Humphries" in some editions of the text.
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, several individuals with the HUMPHRIES surname achieved notable accomplishments. These include Samuel Humphries (1766-1838), an English engraver and painter, and Richard Humphries (1786-1860), a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars.
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the HUMPHRIES surname continued to be widely distributed across England, as well as in other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora. Notable bearers of the name during this period include Ozias Humphry (1742-1810), an English painter, and Alexander Humphries (1783-1859), a Scottish-born Canadian explorer and fur trader.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Humphries
Among Census respondents with the surname Humphries, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Humphries 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 Humphries surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.3% · 13,015
- Black or African American15.5% · 2,644
- Two or more races4.1% · 704
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 519
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 99
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 78
Timeline
Historical Census data for Humphries
Humphries 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
#1,981
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,201
+416 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 6.17
Rank movement Down 124 places
2020
#2,065
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,059
-1,142 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 5.71
Rank movement Down 84 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,857 | 17,785 | 6.59 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,981 | 18,201 | 6.17 | +416 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 124 places |
| 2020 | #2,065 | 17,059 | 5.71 | -1,142 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 84 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 Humphries 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 | #1,981 | #2,065 | -4.2% |
| Count | 18,201 | 17,059 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 6.17 | 5.71 | -7.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Humphries bearers went from 18,201 to 17,059 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 84 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,981 to #2,065.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Humphries
FAQ
Humphries surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Humphries?
Name Census estimates that about 19,562 living Americans carry the surname Humphries. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 17,521 residents.
How common is Humphries?
Humphries ranks #2,065 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.71 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 17,059 people with the surname Humphries. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (19,562), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.71 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 Humphries.
Has Humphries become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Humphries went from 18,201 recorded bearers to 17,059. That is a decrease of 1,142 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,981 to #2,065.
What does the Census say about the background of Humphries?
Among Census respondents with the surname Humphries, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Humphries in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.3% (13,015 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Humphries appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.3%), Black (15.5%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Humphries (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 Humphries mean?
From the Old French personal name Humfrey, meaning "peaceful warrior" or "home peace." 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 Humphries (5.71 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 last name Humphries?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Humphries is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.