2000
#36,672
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 575
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.21
Very Rare Last name
Plimpton
A locational surname derived from the place name Plympton in Devon, England.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 613 Americans carry the last name Plimpton. That puts it at #43,505 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 559,142 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Plimpton 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
613
1 in 559,142
Census rank
#43,505
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
535
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 535 bearers of the surname Plimpton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 43505th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Plimpton, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Plimpton
The surname Plimpton is of English origin, and its roots can be traced back to the medieval period in the county of Warwickshire. The name is derived from the Old English words "plum" and "tun," which together refer to a "plum farm" or a settlement where plums were grown and cultivated.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Plimpton can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Plumtun." This historical record suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the late 11th century.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the Plimpton family was prominent landowners in Warwickshire, with their name appearing in various charters and manorial records of the time. The earliest known bearer of the name was William de Plumpton, who lived in the latter half of the 13th century.
As the Plimpton family members migrated to other parts of England, the name underwent slight variations in spelling, including Plumpton, Plympton, and Plymton. One notable individual from this era was Sir Robert Plympton, a knight who fought in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 during the Hundred Years' War.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Plimptons continued to establish themselves as respected members of the gentry class in various counties across England. One prominent figure from this period was George Plimpton, a renowned poet and playwright born in 1634 in Hertfordshire.
The name Plimpton also has a connection to the United States, where it was brought by early English settlers. One of the most famous American bearers of the name was George Plimpton, the renowned writer, editor, and literary figure who founded The Paris Review. Born in 1927, he was known for his participatory journalism and for his book "Paper Lion," where he chronicled his experience training with the Detroit Lions football team.
Other notable individuals with the surname Plimpton include Martha Plimpton, an American actress born in 1970, and Oakes Plimpton, a 19th-century businessman and philanthropist from Massachusetts who donated funds for the establishment of the Plimpton Press at Amherst College.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Plimpton
Among Census respondents with the surname Plimpton, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Plimpton 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 Plimpton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 497
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 19
- Two or more races1.9% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 3
- Black or African American0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Plimpton
Plimpton 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
#38,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 566
-9 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.19
Rank movement Down 2,276 places
2020
#43,505
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 535
-31 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.18
Rank movement Down 4,557 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #36,672 | 575 | 0.21 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #38,948 | 566 | 0.19 | -9 bearers (-1.6%) | Down 2,276 places |
| 2020 | #43,505 | 535 | 0.18 | -31 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 4,557 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 Plimpton 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 | #38,948 | #43,505 | -11.7% |
| Count | 566 | 535 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.19 | 0.18 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Plimpton bearers went from 566 to 535 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 4,557 positions in the national ranking, going from #38,948 to #43,505.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Plimpton
FAQ
Plimpton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Plimpton?
Name Census estimates that about 613 living Americans carry the surname Plimpton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 559,142 residents.
How common is Plimpton?
Plimpton ranks #43,505 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.18 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 535 people with the surname Plimpton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (613), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.18 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 Plimpton.
Has Plimpton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Plimpton went from 566 recorded bearers to 535. That is a decrease of 31 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #38,948 to #43,505.
What does the Census say about the background of Plimpton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Plimpton, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Plimpton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (497 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Plimpton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Plimpton (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 Plimpton mean?
A locational surname derived from the place name Plympton in Devon, England. 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 Plimpton (0.18 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 Plimpton?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Plimpton, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.