2000
#949
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 33,797
First available Census row
Per 100,000 12.53
Uncommon Last name
Rollins
An English surname derived from a place name meaning "Hroda's link," referring to a ridge or hill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 38,415 Americans carry the last name Rollins. That puts it at #1,030 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 11.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 8,922 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rollins 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 Rollins with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
38K
1 in 8,922
Census rank
#1,030
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
11.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
34K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 33,500 bearers of the surname Rollins in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 11.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1030th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rollins, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.2%. The next largest groups are Black (24.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rollins
The surname Rollins has its origins in England, where it first appeared in the 13th century. It is derived from the Old French word "rollin," meaning "little roller," which referred to someone who worked with a type of cylindrical object or tool. The name likely originated as an occupational surname for a person whose job involved rolling or handling rolls of cloth, parchment, or other materials.
The earliest recorded instance of the Rollins surname can be found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which listed a Richard Rollins in Oxfordshire. In the 14th century, the name appeared as "Rollyns" in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1327. The variants "Rollings" and "Rollyngs" were also used in medieval times.
The Rollins surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was William Rollins, a member of the Virginia Company who sailed to the Virginia Colony in 1607 and became one of the first English settlers in the New World. John Rollins (1732-1795) was a prominent merchant and landowner in New Hampshire, who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress during the American Revolution.
In the 19th century, Edward H. Rollins (1824-1889) was a prominent American politician and businessman who served as a member of Congress and as the Commissioner of Internal Revenue under President Ulysses S. Grant. James Sidney Rollins (1812-1888) was a politician and educator from Missouri who played a key role in the founding of the University of Missouri.
Another notable bearer of the Rollins surname was Walter H. Rollins (1867-1945), a successful businessman and philanthropist from New Hampshire who founded the Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, in 1885. The college was named in honor of his father, Alonzo W. Rollins, and the Rollins family's contributions to the institution have been significant throughout its history.
The Rollins surname has also been connected to various place names, such as Rollins Brook in New Hampshire and Rollins Township in Michigan. These locations were likely named after early settlers or landowners with the Rollins surname, reflecting the influence and presence of this family name in different parts of the United States and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rollins
Among Census respondents with the surname Rollins, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.2%. The next largest groups are Black (24.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Rollins 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 Rollins surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.2% · 22,180
- Black or African American24.9% · 8,331
- Two or more races4.6% · 1,543
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 1,122
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 171
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 153
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rollins
Rollins 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
#992
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 35,132
+1,335 bearers (+4.0%)
Per 100,000 11.91
Rank movement Down 43 places
2020
#1,030
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 33,500
-1,632 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 11.21
Rank movement Down 38 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #949 | 33,797 | 12.53 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #992 | 35,132 | 11.91 | +1,335 bearers (+4.0%) | Down 43 places |
| 2020 | #1,030 | 33,500 | 11.21 | -1,632 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 38 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 Rollins 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 | #992 | #1,030 | -3.8% |
| Count | 35,132 | 33,500 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 11.91 | 11.21 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rollins bearers went from 35,132 to 33,500 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 38 positions in the national ranking, going from #992 to #1,030.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Rollins
FAQ
Rollins surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rollins?
Name Census estimates that about 38,415 living Americans carry the surname Rollins. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 8,922 residents.
How common is Rollins?
Rollins ranks #1,030 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 11.21 per 100,000 residents, which is about 11 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 33,500 people with the surname Rollins. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (38,415), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 11.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 11.21 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 11 of them to have the surname Rollins.
Has Rollins become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rollins went from 35,132 recorded bearers to 33,500. That is a decrease of 1,632 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #992 to #1,030.
What does the Census say about the background of Rollins?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rollins, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.2%. The next largest groups are Black (24.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Rollins in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.2% (22,180 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rollins appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (66.2%), Black (24.9%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Rollins (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 Rollins mean?
An English surname derived from a place name meaning "Hroda's link," referring to a ridge or hill. 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 Rollins (11.21 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 Rollins?
You can see how common the surname Rollins is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.