2000
#84
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 228,756
First available Census row
Per 100,000 84.80
Common Last name
Price
An English occupational surname for a person who determined the cost of goods or commodities.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 258,855 Americans carry the last name Price. That puts it at #97 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 75.52 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,324 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Price 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 Price with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
259K
1 in 1,324
Census rank
#97
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
75.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
226K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 225,734 bearers of the surname Price in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 75.52 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 97th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Price, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.1%. The next largest groups are Black (19.9%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Price
The surname PRICE is of English origin, derived from the Old French word "pris" or "prys," meaning "prize" or "reward." It is believed to have originated as an occupational name for a prize officer or someone who acted as a valuer or assessor.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname PRICE can be traced back to the 13th century. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Robert le Pris, who was mentioned in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1238. Another early example is William le Prys, recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275.
The PRICE surname is found in various historical records, including the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, where it appears as "le Pris" and "le Prys." It is also recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1301, where it is spelled "Pryse."
In the 14th century, the surname PRICE began to appear in its modern spelling. One of the earliest instances of this was John Price, who was mentioned in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire in 1317.
Over the centuries, the PRICE surname has been associated with several notable individuals. One of the most famous was Sir John Prise (c. 1501-1555), a Welsh politician and historian who served as Secretary to the Council of the Marches of Wales under King Henry VIII. Another notable bearer of the name was Thomas Price (c. 1518-1582), a Welsh Roman Catholic martyr who was executed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
In the 17th century, Richard Price (1623-1691) was a prominent English philosopher and theologian who served as a chaplain to Oliver Cromwell. His work, "A Treatise on Moral Evil," published in 1678, was influential in the development of moral philosophy.
The PRICE surname was also associated with some important figures in the American colonies. One such individual was Ezekiel Price (c. 1730-1790), a Baptist minister and writer who founded the First Baptist Church of Boston in 1765.
Another notable bearer of the PRICE surname was Richard Price (1723-1791), a Welsh moral philosopher and nonconformist preacher who advocated for American independence and was a close friend of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.
Throughout history, the PRICE surname has been connected to various place names, such as Price's Hill in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Priceleys in Shropshire, England, which was once known as "Preseles" or "Priseles."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Price
Among Census respondents with the surname Price, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.1%. The next largest groups are Black (19.9%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Price 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 Price surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.1% · 160,447
- Black or African American19.9% · 45,027
- Two or more races4.5% · 10,131
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 7,228
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1,458
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1,443
Timeline
Historical Census data for Price
Price 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
#91
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 235,251
+6,495 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 79.75
Rank movement Down 7 places
2020
#97
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 225,734
-9,517 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 75.52
Rank movement Down 6 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #84 | 228,756 | 84.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #91 | 235,251 | 79.75 | +6,495 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 7 places |
| 2020 | #97 | 225,734 | 75.52 | -9,517 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 6 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 Price 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 | #91 | #97 | -6.6% |
| Count | 235,251 | 225,734 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 79.75 | 75.52 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Price bearers went from 235,251 to 225,734 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 6 positions in the national ranking, going from #91 to #97.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Price
FAQ
Price surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Price?
Name Census estimates that about 258,855 living Americans carry the surname Price. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,324 residents.
How common is Price?
Price ranks #97 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 75.52 per 100,000 residents, which is about 76 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 225,734 people with the surname Price. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (258,855), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 75.52 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 75.52 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 76 of them to have the surname Price.
Has Price become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Price went from 235,251 recorded bearers to 225,734. That is a decrease of 9,517 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #91 to #97.
What does the Census say about the background of Price?
Among Census respondents with the surname Price, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.1%. The next largest groups are Black (19.9%) 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 Price in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.1% (160,447 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Price appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (71.1%), Black (19.9%), 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 Price (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 Price mean?
An English occupational surname for a person who determined the cost of goods or commodities. 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 Price (75.52 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 common is the surname Price?
If you just want to know how common the surname Price is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.