2000
#1,583
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,776
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.70
Uncommon Last name
Irvin
A surname of Scottish origin, derived from the Old English personal name Eoforwine, meaning "boar friend."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 23,030 Americans carry the last name Irvin. That puts it at #1,739 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 14,883 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Irvin 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 Irvin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
23K
1 in 14,883
Census rank
#1,739
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
20K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 20,083 bearers of the surname Irvin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1739th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Irvin, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.8%. The next largest groups are Black (25.3%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Irvin
The surname Irvin has its origins in the ancient Anglo-Saxon territories of Britain. It is derived from the Old English personal name "Irvine", which was composed of the elements "yr" meaning "green" and "wine" meaning "friend". This name likely originated in the southwestern region of England during the 7th or 8th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where an individual named "Iruine" is listed as a landowner in Somerset. This suggests that the name had become established in the region by the late 11th century. Over time, various spellings emerged, such as Irvin, Irvine, and Irwin.
In the 13th century, the name is found in records from the county of Ayrshire in Scotland, suggesting that it had spread northward from its English origins. One notable bearer was Sir William de Irvine, who was granted lands in Ayrshire by King Robert the Bruce in the early 14th century.
The surname also has a strong association with the town of Irvine in Ayrshire, which likely took its name from a local landholder in the 12th century. Over the centuries, several prominent individuals have borne the name Irvin or its variants, including James Irvine (1540-1612), a Scottish Protestant reformer and scholar, and Christopher Irvin (1728-1786), an American Revolutionary War officer and landowner in Pennsylvania.
Another notable figure was William Irvine (1741-1804), an Irish-born American soldier and politician who served as a Brigadier General in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Additionally, Robert Irvin (1920-1995), an American mathematician and computer scientist, made significant contributions to the field of numerical analysis and computer programming.
In the 19th century, the name Irvin gained recognition through the work of Emily Jane Irvin Tuttle (1835-1899), an American writer and poet who published under the pseudonym "Nora Perry". Her literary works often explored themes of nature and rural life in the American Midwest.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Irvin
Among Census respondents with the surname Irvin, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.8%. The next largest groups are Black (25.3%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Irvin 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 Irvin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.8% · 13,209
- Black or African American25.3% · 5,072
- Two or more races4.6% · 921
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 636
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 125
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 120
Timeline
Historical Census data for Irvin
Irvin 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
#1,695
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,263
+487 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 7.21
Rank movement Down 112 places
2020
#1,739
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,083
-1,180 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 6.72
Rank movement Down 44 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,583 | 20,776 | 7.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,695 | 21,263 | 7.21 | +487 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 112 places |
| 2020 | #1,739 | 20,083 | 6.72 | -1,180 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 44 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 Irvin 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 | #1,695 | #1,739 | -2.6% |
| Count | 21,263 | 20,083 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 7.21 | 6.72 | -6.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Irvin bearers went from 21,263 to 20,083 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 44 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,695 to #1,739.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Irvin
FAQ
Irvin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Irvin?
Name Census estimates that about 23,030 living Americans carry the surname Irvin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 14,883 residents.
How common is Irvin?
Irvin ranks #1,739 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.72 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 20,083 people with the surname Irvin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (23,030), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.72 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Irvin.
Has Irvin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Irvin went from 21,263 recorded bearers to 20,083. That is a decrease of 1,180 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,695 to #1,739.
What does the Census say about the background of Irvin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Irvin, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.8%. The next largest groups are Black (25.3%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Irvin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.8% (13,209 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Irvin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (65.8%), Black (25.3%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Irvin (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 Irvin mean?
A surname of Scottish origin, derived from the Old English personal name Eoforwine, meaning "boar friend." 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 Irvin (6.72 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 Irvin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.