2000
#19,968
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,244
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.46
Rare Last name
Platts
An English habitational surname derived from various places so named, meaning "flat land".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,488 Americans carry the last name Platts. That puts it at #20,657 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.43 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 230,346 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Platts 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 Platts with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.5K
1 in 230,346
Census rank
#20,657
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,298 bearers of the surname Platts in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.43 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 20657th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Platts, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.0%. The next largest groups are Black (17.9%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Platts
The surname Platts is an English locational name derived from the Old English words "plat" meaning a small piece of ground or plot, and "flat" meaning a level, low-lying area. It originated in areas of England where families lived on small plots of flat land.
The earliest known record of the name dates back to the 13th century in Yorkshire, England. In 1273, a Robert de Plat was mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Yorkshire. The name was also found in various forms such as Platt, Plat, and Platte in medieval records and tax rolls across northern England.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Platt, a landowner from Cheshire, England, who was born in 1400. Another notable individual was Sir Hugh Platt, an English writer and inventor from Lincolnshire, who lived from 1552 to 1608 and authored several books on agriculture and gardening.
The Platts surname has ties to several place names in England, including Platt in Lancashire, Platt Bridge in Greater Manchester, and Platt in Staffordshire. These place names likely derived from the same Old English words and influenced the development of the surname.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name appeared in various parish records and historical documents across northern England. Notable bearers of the Platts surname included Thomas Platt, a wealthy merchant from Manchester who lived from 1675 to 1743, and John Platt, a renowned clockmaker from Bolton, Lancashire, born in 1730.
Another prominent individual with the Platts surname was Sir Thomas Joshua Platt, a British businessman and politician who lived from 1831 to 1898. He served as a Member of Parliament and was involved in the cotton industry in Manchester.
Throughout its history, the Platts surname has been associated with various occupations and professions, from landowners and merchants to inventors and politicians, reflecting the diverse backgrounds of its bearers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Platts
Among Census respondents with the surname Platts, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.0%. The next largest groups are Black (17.9%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Platts 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 Platts surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.0% · 973
- Black or African American17.9% · 232
- Two or more races3.2% · 42
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Platts
Platts 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
#20,099
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,329
+85 bearers (+6.8%)
Per 100,000 0.45
Rank movement Down 131 places
2020
#20,657
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,298
-31 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 0.43
Rank movement Down 558 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #19,968 | 1,244 | 0.46 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #20,099 | 1,329 | 0.45 | +85 bearers (+6.8%) | Down 131 places |
| 2020 | #20,657 | 1,298 | 0.43 | -31 bearers (-2.3%) | Down 558 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 Platts 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 | #20,099 | #20,657 | -2.8% |
| Count | 1,329 | 1,298 | -2.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.45 | 0.43 | -3.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Platts bearers went from 1,329 to 1,298 (-2.3% change). The surname moved down 558 positions in the national ranking, going from #20,099 to #20,657.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Platts
FAQ
Platts surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Platts?
Name Census estimates that about 1,488 living Americans carry the surname Platts. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 230,346 residents.
How common is Platts?
Platts ranks #20,657 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.43 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 1,298 people with the surname Platts. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,488), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.43 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.43 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 Platts.
Has Platts become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Platts went from 1,329 recorded bearers to 1,298. That is a decrease of 31 (-2.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #20,099 to #20,657.
What does the Census say about the background of Platts?
Among Census respondents with the surname Platts, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.0%. The next largest groups are Black (17.9%) 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 Platts in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.0% (973 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Platts appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.0%), Black (17.9%), 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 Platts (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 Platts mean?
An English habitational surname derived from various places so named, meaning "flat land". 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 Platts (0.43 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 Platts?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.