2000
#40,019
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 516
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.19
Very Rare Last name
Score
A surname referring to the act of scoring or marking something.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 586 Americans carry the last name Score. That puts it at #45,147 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.17 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 584,905 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Score 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 Score with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
586
1 in 584,905
Census rank
#45,147
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
511
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 511 bearers of the surname Score in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.17 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 45147th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Score, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.3%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Score
The surname "SCORE" is of English origin, and it is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, around the 12th or 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word "scor," which means a boundary or a territorial division.
In its earliest form, the name was likely used to refer to someone who lived near a boundary or a marked boundary line, perhaps between two villages or estates. This suggests that the name may have originated in rural areas where land ownership and boundaries were of significance.
Some of the earliest recorded instances of the surname "SCORE" can be found in medieval documents and records from various parts of England. One notable example is the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which contains references to individuals with the surname "Score" in counties such as Oxfordshire and Berkshire.
During the 14th century, the surname appeared in various spellings, including "Scor," "Scorre," and "Skore," reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling at the time. One individual of note was John Scorre, who was mentioned in the Patent Rolls of 1348 as a landowner in Gloucestershire.
As the centuries passed, the surname "SCORE" continued to be documented in various historical records across England. In the 16th century, for instance, there are records of the Scores of Devonshire, a notable family with roots in the county.
One prominent figure with the surname "SCORE" was Sir Clement Score, a judge and legal scholar who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He served as a Justice of the King's Bench and was renowned for his legal expertise.
Another individual of note was Thomas Score, a Puritan minister who lived during the 17th century. Born in 1589, he was a renowned preacher and author, known for his works on religious topics.
In the 18th century, the surname "SCORE" was also found in various parts of England, with notable individuals such as John Score, a merchant and landowner in Oxfordshire, born in 1712.
During the 19th century, the surname continued to be documented across England, with individuals like William Score, a prominent industrialist from Lancashire, born in 1823, and Mary Score, a renowned educator and advocate for women's education, born in 1841.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Score
Among Census respondents with the surname Score, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.3%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Score 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 Score surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.7% · 479
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 12
- Two or more races1.8% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 7
- Black or African American0.8% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Score
Score 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
#42,378
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 512
-4 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.17
Rank movement Down 2,359 places
2020
#45,147
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 511
-1 bearers (-0.2%)
Per 100,000 0.17
Rank movement Down 2,769 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #40,019 | 516 | 0.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #42,378 | 512 | 0.17 | -4 bearers (-0.8%) | Down 2,359 places |
| 2020 | #45,147 | 511 | 0.17 | -1 bearers (-0.2%) | Down 2,769 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 Score 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 | #42,378 | #45,147 | -6.5% |
| Count | 512 | 511 | -0.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Score bearers went from 512 to 511 (-0.2% change). The surname moved down 2,769 positions in the national ranking, going from #42,378 to #45,147.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Score
FAQ
Score surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Score?
Name Census estimates that about 586 living Americans carry the surname Score. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 584,905 residents.
How common is Score?
Score ranks #45,147 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.17 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 511 people with the surname Score. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (586), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.17 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 Score.
Has Score become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Score went from 512 recorded bearers to 511. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #42,378 to #45,147.
What does the Census say about the background of Score?
Among Census respondents with the surname Score, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.3%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Score in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.7% (479 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Score appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.7%), Hispanic (2.3%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Score (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 Score mean?
A surname referring to the act of scoring or marking something. 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 Score (0.17 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 Score?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.