2000
#1,659
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,791
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.34
Uncommon Last name
Major
An occupational surname referring to a high-ranking military officer or a person of great importance or authority.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 23,308 Americans carry the last name Major. That puts it at #1,725 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 14,705 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Major 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 Major with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
23K
1 in 14,705
Census rank
#1,725
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
20K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 20,326 bearers of the surname Major in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1725th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Major, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.0%. The next largest groups are Black (31.6%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Major
The surname Major is of English origin, derived from the Latin word 'major', meaning 'greater' or 'superior'. It emerged as an occupational surname in medieval times, initially used to refer to a person who held a position of authority or rank.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname can be traced back to the 13th century in various English counties, such as Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 and the Subsidy Rolls of 1327 contain references to individuals bearing the name Major or its variants, like le Mair or Mair.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was Geoffrey le Mair, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1230. Another notable individual was John le Maire, a merchant from York, whose name appeared in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1301.
The surname Major was sometimes derived from place names, such as Major's Green in Hertfordshire or Major's Croft in Yorkshire. These place names likely originated from individuals with the occupational surname Major who lived or owned land in those areas.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the surname Major. One of the most prominent was Sir Thomas Major (c. 1469-1550), an English cartographer and scholar who produced influential works on geography and navigation. Another notable bearer was Richard Major (c. 1635-1722), an English philosopher and theologian who served as a Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge.
In the 18th century, John Major (1698-1779) was a British army officer who served as a Major-General during the French and Indian War. He played a significant role in the capture of Havana in 1762.
In the 19th century, Richard Henry Major (1818-1891) was a respected British geographer and writer who served as the Keeper of Maps and Plans at the British Museum. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
More recently, John Major (born 1943) served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1990 to 1997, leading the Conservative Party during a tumultuous period in British politics.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Major
Among Census respondents with the surname Major, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.0%. The next largest groups are Black (31.6%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Major 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 Major surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.0% · 11,984
- Black or African American31.6% · 6,428
- Two or more races4.5% · 909
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 711
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 186
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 108
Timeline
Historical Census data for Major
Major 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
#1,714
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,977
+1,186 bearers (+6.0%)
Per 100,000 7.11
Rank movement Down 55 places
2020
#1,725
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,326
-651 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 6.80
Rank movement Down 11 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,659 | 19,791 | 7.34 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,714 | 20,977 | 7.11 | +1,186 bearers (+6.0%) | Down 55 places |
| 2020 | #1,725 | 20,326 | 6.80 | -651 bearers (-3.1%) | Down 11 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 Major 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 | #1,714 | #1,725 | -0.6% |
| Count | 20,977 | 20,326 | -3.1% |
| Per 100K | 7.11 | 6.80 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Major bearers went from 20,977 to 20,326 (-3.1% change). The surname moved down 11 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,714 to #1,725.
FAQ
Major surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Major?
Name Census estimates that about 23,308 living Americans carry the surname Major. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 14,705 residents.
How common is Major?
Major ranks #1,725 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.80 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 20,326 people with the surname Major. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (23,308), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.80 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 Major.
Has Major become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Major went from 20,977 recorded bearers to 20,326. That is a decrease of 651 (-3.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,714 to #1,725.
What does the Census say about the background of Major?
Among Census respondents with the surname Major, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.0%. The next largest groups are Black (31.6%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Major in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.0% (11,984 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Major appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (59.0%), Black (31.6%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Major (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 Major mean?
An occupational surname referring to a high-ranking military officer or a person of great importance or authority. 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 Major (6.80 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 are called Major?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Major? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.