2000
#53,556
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 362
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.13
Very Rare Last name
Laughrey
An English surname derived from the Old English words "hlaw/hlaew" meaning hill or mound, and the suffix "-rey" meaning area or clearing.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 390 Americans carry the last name Laughrey. That puts it at #63,405 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.11 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 878,857 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Laughrey 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.
Bearers in the US
390
1 in 878,857
Census rank
#63,405
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
340
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 340 bearers of the surname Laughrey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.11 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 63405th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Laughrey, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Laughrey
The surname Laughrey has its origins in the Scottish Highlands and is believed to have originated in the late 13th century. It is derived from the Gaelic words "lagh" meaning "hollow" and "reidh" meaning "slope" or "plain", suggesting that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a hollow or depression on a hillside.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from 1329, where a John de Loughry is listed as a landowner in the county of Perthshire. The name also appears in various charters and land records from the 14th and 15th centuries, with spellings such as Loughrie, Loughrye, and Loghry.
In the 16th century, the Laughreys were prominent in the Highlands, particularly in the regions of Argyll and Perthshire. A notable figure from this period was Sir Duncan Laughrey, a clan chief who fought alongside King James IV at the Battle of Flodden in 1513 against the English.
The name Laughrey is also associated with several place names in Scotland, such as Loughry in Ayrshire and Loughry Hill in Aberdeenshire. These places may have been named after early members of the Laughrey clan or may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.
Other notable individuals with the surname Laughrey include:
1. Robert Laughrey (c. 1550-1620), a Scottish merchant and landowner in Aberdeen.
2. Margaret Laughrey (1620-1692), accused of witchcraft during the Scottish witch trials in the late 17th century.
3. James Laughrey (1784-1853), a Scottish-born surveyor and explorer who helped map parts of the Canadian wilderness.
4. William Laughrey (1833-1901), an American Civil War veteran and politician who served as a U.S. Congressman from Ohio.
5. Sir John Laughrey (1875-1944), a Scottish engineer and businessman who played a key role in the development of hydroelectric power in Canada.
The surname Laughrey has endured through the centuries and continues to be found in various parts of the world, particularly in Scotland, England, Canada, and the United States, where descendants of the original Scottish bearers of the name have settled.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laughrey
Among Census respondents with the surname Laughrey, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Laughrey 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 Laughrey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.0% · 306
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 15
- Two or more races3.2% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 4
- Black or African American0.6% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Laughrey
Laughrey 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
#57,781
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 352
-10 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Down 4,225 places
2020
#63,405
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 340
-12 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.11
Rank movement Down 5,624 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #53,556 | 362 | 0.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #57,781 | 352 | 0.12 | -10 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 4,225 places |
| 2020 | #63,405 | 340 | 0.11 | -12 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 5,624 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 Laughrey 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 | #57,781 | #63,405 | -9.7% |
| Count | 352 | 340 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.12 | 0.11 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Laughrey bearers went from 352 to 340 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 5,624 positions in the national ranking, going from #57,781 to #63,405.
FAQ
Laughrey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Laughrey?
Name Census estimates that about 390 living Americans carry the surname Laughrey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 878,857 residents.
How common is Laughrey?
Laughrey ranks #63,405 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.11 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 340 people with the surname Laughrey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (390), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.11 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.11 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Laughrey.
Has Laughrey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Laughrey went from 352 recorded bearers to 340. That is a decrease of 12 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #57,781 to #63,405.
What does the Census say about the background of Laughrey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Laughrey, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Laughrey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (306 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Laughrey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.0%), Hispanic (4.4%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Laughrey (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 Laughrey mean?
An English surname derived from the Old English words "hlaw/hlaew" meaning hill or mound, and the suffix "-rey" meaning area or clearing. 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 Laughrey (0.11 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 Laughrey?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Laughrey, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.