2000
#725
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 42,884
First available Census row
Per 100,000 15.90
Uncommon Last name
Meadows
An English topographic surname referring to someone who lived near or worked in a meadow or grassland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 48,958 Americans carry the last name Meadows. That puts it at #788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 14.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 7,001 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Meadows 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 Meadows with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
49K
1 in 7,001
Census rank
#788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
14.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
43K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 42,694 bearers of the surname Meadows in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 14.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Meadows, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.2%. The next largest groups are Black (13.7%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Meadows
The surname Meadows is an English habitation name derived from the Old English word "maed" meaning meadow or tract of grass land. It was originally used as a locational identifier for someone who lived near or came from an area known for its meadows or grasslands.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Meadows can be traced back to the late 12th century in various county records and tax rolls across England. One notable early appearance is in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1199, which mentions a Richard de Medwe.
In the 13th century, the Hundred Rolls of 1273 lists a William de la Medewe in Oxfordshire. The Meadows spelling variation can be found in records from the 14th century onwards, such as the Poll Tax of Yorkshire from 1379 which includes a John Medows.
The name Meadows was particularly prevalent in the counties of Yorkshire, Staffordshire, and Gloucestershire, where many medieval records document individuals bearing this surname. Some of these early recordings include John atte Medwe (1327) in Somerset and William de la Medewe (1332) in Oxfordshire.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Meadows surname was Sir Philip Meadows (1626-1718), an English diplomat and politician who served as Envoy Extraordinary to Portugal and Sweden. Another notable figure was Sir Sydney Meadows (1701-1792), a British naval officer and colonial administrator who served as Governor of the Leeward Islands from 1742 to 1751.
Other historical figures with the Meadows surname include Thomas Taylor Meadows (1815-1868), a British sinologist and translator of Chinese literature, and Charles Meadows (1737-1821), an English lawyer and judge who served as Chief Justice of the Calcutta Supreme Court.
The name Meadows has also been associated with various place names across England, such as Meadows in Derbyshire, Meadows in Nottinghamshire, and Meadows in Staffordshire. These locations likely derived their names from the presence of meadowlands or grasslands in the area.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Meadows
Among Census respondents with the surname Meadows, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.2%. The next largest groups are Black (13.7%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Meadows 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 Meadows surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.2% · 33,374
- Black or African American13.7% · 5,869
- Two or more races4.4% · 1,870
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 1,192
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 207
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 182
Timeline
Historical Census data for Meadows
Meadows 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
#773
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 44,500
+1,616 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 15.09
Rank movement Down 48 places
2020
#788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 42,694
-1,806 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 14.28
Rank movement Down 15 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #725 | 42,884 | 15.90 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #773 | 44,500 | 15.09 | +1,616 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 48 places |
| 2020 | #788 | 42,694 | 14.28 | -1,806 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 15 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 Meadows 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 | #773 | #788 | -1.9% |
| Count | 44,500 | 42,694 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 15.09 | 14.28 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Meadows bearers went from 44,500 to 42,694 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 15 positions in the national ranking, going from #773 to #788.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Meadows
FAQ
Meadows surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Meadows?
Name Census estimates that about 48,958 living Americans carry the surname Meadows. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 7,001 residents.
How common is Meadows?
Meadows ranks #788 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 14.28 per 100,000 residents, which is about 14 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 42,694 people with the surname Meadows. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (48,958), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 14.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 14.28 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 14 of them to have the surname Meadows.
Has Meadows become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Meadows went from 44,500 recorded bearers to 42,694. That is a decrease of 1,806 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #773 to #788.
What does the Census say about the background of Meadows?
Among Census respondents with the surname Meadows, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.2%. The next largest groups are Black (13.7%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Meadows in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.2% (33,374 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Meadows appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.2%), Black (13.7%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Meadows (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 Meadows mean?
An English topographic surname referring to someone who lived near or worked in a meadow or grassland. 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 Meadows (14.28 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 Meadows?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.