2000
#27
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 503,028
First available Census row
Per 100,000 186.47
Very Common Last name
Robinson
Derived from the given name Robin, which comes from the bird, and the patronymic suffix -son, meaning "son of Robin."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 584,988 Americans carry the last name Robinson. That puts it at #31 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 170.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 586 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Robinson 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 Robinson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
585K
1 in 586
Census rank
#31
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
170.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
510K
very common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 510,138 bearers of the surname Robinson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 170.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 31st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Robinson, the largest self-reported group is White at 46.8%. The next largest groups are Black (43.4%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Robinson
The surname Robinson is of English origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is a patronymic name derived from the personal name "Robin" or "Robert", with the addition of the suffix "-son", meaning "son of". The name "Robin" itself was a diminutive form of the Germanic name "Robrecht", which was composed of the elements "hrōd" (meaning "fame" or "renown") and "berht" (meaning "bright" or "famous").
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was recorded in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, where a Thomas Robynessone was mentioned in Oxfordshire. The Domesday Book of 1086 does not contain any direct references to the surname Robinson, but it does mention individuals with the personal name "Robert" or its variants.
The name Robinson was particularly prevalent in the northern counties of England, such as Yorkshire and Lancashire. It may have originated from place names like Robingate in Yorkshire or Roby in Lancashire, though the connection is not certain.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the surname Robinson began appearing more frequently in various records and documents. Some notable individuals bearing this name include:
1. John Robinson (c. 1576–1625), an English Puritan minister and a leader of the Pilgrims who sailed on the Mayflower to establish the Plymouth Colony in 1620.
2. Robert Robinson (1735–1790), an English Baptist minister and hymn writer, best known for composing the hymn "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing".
3. Mary Robinson (1758–1800), an English actress, poet, and writer, known for her semi-autobiographical work "Memoirs of the Late Mrs. Robinson".
4. Edward G. Robinson (1893–1973), an American actor who played tough-guy roles in films like "Little Caesar" and "Key Largo".
5. Jackie Robinson (1919–1972), an American baseball player who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.
As the surname Robinson spread across the English-speaking world, it became one of the most common surnames in countries like the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, among others.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Robinson
Among Census respondents with the surname Robinson, the largest self-reported group is White at 46.8%. The next largest groups are Black (43.4%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Robinson 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 Robinson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White46.8% · 238,517
- Black or African American43.4% · 221,607
- Two or more races5.1% · 25,898
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 18,314
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 3,178
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2,624
Timeline
Historical Census data for Robinson
Robinson 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
#30
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 529,821
+26,793 bearers (+5.3%)
Per 100,000 179.61
Rank movement Down 3 places
2020
#31
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 510,138
-19,683 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 170.67
Rank movement Down 1 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #27 | 503,028 | 186.47 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #30 | 529,821 | 179.61 | +26,793 bearers (+5.3%) | Down 3 places |
| 2020 | #31 | 510,138 | 170.67 | -19,683 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 1 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 Robinson 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 | #30 | #31 | -3.3% |
| Count | 529,821 | 510,138 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 179.61 | 170.67 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Robinson bearers went from 529,821 to 510,138 (-3.7% change). The surname moved down 1 positions in the national ranking, going from #30 to #31.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Robinson
FAQ
Robinson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Robinson?
Name Census estimates that about 584,988 living Americans carry the surname Robinson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 586 residents.
How common is Robinson?
Robinson ranks #31 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 170.67 per 100,000 residents, which is about 171 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 510,138 people with the surname Robinson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (584,988), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 170.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 170.67 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 171 of them to have the surname Robinson.
Has Robinson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Robinson went from 529,821 recorded bearers to 510,138. That is a decrease of 19,683 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #30 to #31.
What does the Census say about the background of Robinson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Robinson, the largest self-reported group is White at 46.8%. The next largest groups are Black (43.4%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Robinson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.8% (238,517 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Robinson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (46.8%), Black (43.4%), Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Robinson (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 Robinson mean?
Derived from the given name Robin, which comes from the bird, and the patronymic suffix -son, meaning "son of Robin." 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 Robinson (170.67 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 Americans have the surname Robinson?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.