2000
#1,572
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,935
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.76
Uncommon Last name
Latham
From an English place name meaning "barn" or "granary" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 23,468 Americans carry the last name Latham. That puts it at #1,715 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 14,605 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Latham 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 Latham with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
23K
1 in 14,605
Census rank
#1,715
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
20K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 20,465 bearers of the surname Latham in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1715th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Latham, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.1%. The next largest groups are Black (15.7%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Latham
The surname Latham originated in England during the Anglo-Saxon period. It is derived from the Old English words "læcc" meaning a stream or brook, and "ham" meaning a homestead or village. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a stream or in a village situated near a stream.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "de Lateham" in reference to a landowner in Lancashire. The name was also recorded in various other medieval documents, such as the Pipe Rolls of Lancashire in 1176, where it was spelled "Latham."
The name Latham is closely associated with the town of Lathom in Lancashire, which was once the site of a significant manor house and estate owned by the Lathom family. The spelling of the place name evolved over time, with variations including Lathum, Lathom, and eventually Latham.
Notable historical figures with the surname Latham include:
1. John Latham (1740-1837), an English naturalist and ornithologist, best known for his work on bird taxonomy and his contributions to the study of Australian wildlife.
2. William Latham (1609-1671), an English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament during the English Civil War.
3. Henry Latham (1822-1904), an English clergyman and antiquarian who wrote extensively on the history and archaeology of the West Riding of Yorkshire.
4. Robert Gordon Latham (1812-1888), an English ethnologist, philologist, and antiquarian, known for his work on comparative philology and the classification of languages.
5. John Latham (1761-1843), an English surgeon and medical writer, best known for his work on the treatment of fractures and dislocations.
The Latham surname continues to be prevalent in various parts of England, particularly in the northwest region around Lancashire and Greater Manchester, reflecting its historical origins and associations with those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Latham
Among Census respondents with the surname Latham, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.1%. The next largest groups are Black (15.7%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Latham 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 Latham surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.1% · 15,583
- Black or African American15.7% · 3,222
- Two or more races3.9% · 805
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 611
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 154
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 90
Timeline
Historical Census data for Latham
Latham 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
#1,693
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,277
+342 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 7.21
Rank movement Down 121 places
2020
#1,715
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,465
-812 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 6.85
Rank movement Down 22 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,572 | 20,935 | 7.76 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,693 | 21,277 | 7.21 | +342 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 121 places |
| 2020 | #1,715 | 20,465 | 6.85 | -812 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 22 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 Latham 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 | #1,693 | #1,715 | -1.3% |
| Count | 21,277 | 20,465 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 7.21 | 6.85 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Latham bearers went from 21,277 to 20,465 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 22 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,693 to #1,715.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Latham
FAQ
Latham surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Latham?
Name Census estimates that about 23,468 living Americans carry the surname Latham. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 14,605 residents.
How common is Latham?
Latham ranks #1,715 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.85 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 20,465 people with the surname Latham. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (23,468), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.85 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 Latham.
Has Latham become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Latham went from 21,277 recorded bearers to 20,465. That is a decrease of 812 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,693 to #1,715.
What does the Census say about the background of Latham?
Among Census respondents with the surname Latham, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.1%. The next largest groups are Black (15.7%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Latham in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.1% (15,583 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Latham appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.1%), Black (15.7%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Latham (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 Latham mean?
From an English place name meaning "barn" or "granary" in Old English. 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 Latham (6.85 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 common is the surname Latham?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Latham at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.