2000
#4,589
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,082
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.63
Rare Last name
Speed
An English occupational surname referring to someone who traveled expeditiously or conveyed messages swiftly.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,133 Americans carry the last name Speed. That puts it at #4,833 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.37 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 42,144 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Speed 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 Speed with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.1K
1 in 42,144
Census rank
#4,833
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,092 bearers of the surname Speed in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.37 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4833rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Speed, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.9%. The next largest groups are Black (35.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Speed
The surname SPEED is of English origin, with records indicating its existence as far back as the late 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "sped," meaning "prosperity" or "success," suggesting that the name may have originally referred to someone who was prosperous or successful.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the SPEED surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, where a person named Walter Sped is mentioned. This spelling variation highlights the evolution of the name over time.
The SPEED surname is also documented in the Subsidy Rolls of Staffordshire from 1327, where a person named Thomas Spede is listed. This record provides insight into the geographical distribution of the name during that period.
In the 14th century, the SPEED surname appears to have been particularly prevalent in the counties of Staffordshire, Oxfordshire, and Warwickshire, as evidenced by various historical records and manuscripts from that time.
One noteworthy individual bearing the SPEED surname was John Speed (1552-1629), an English cartographer and historian who is best known for creating the famous "Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine," a comprehensive atlas of England, Scotland, and Ireland published in 1611-1612.
Another prominent figure was Samuel Speed (c. 1631-1681), an English Baptist minister and author who played a significant role in the development of religious dissent in the 17th century.
In the 18th century, Joshua Speed (1703-1778) was a notable English surveyor and cartographer who worked on mapping various parts of England and Wales.
Moving into the 19th century, John Gilmer Speed (1813-1887) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 18th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky from 1864 to 1867.
Lastly, James Speed (1812-1887), the brother of John Gilmer Speed, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 27th United States Attorney General under President Abraham Lincoln from 1864 to 1866.
While the SPEED surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to various other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, reflecting the migration patterns of English settlers over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Speed
Among Census respondents with the surname Speed, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.9%. The next largest groups are Black (35.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Speed 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 Speed surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.9% · 3,966
- Black or African American35.6% · 2,526
- Two or more races4.4% · 310
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 220
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 39
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 31
Timeline
Historical Census data for Speed
Speed 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
#4,859
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,255
+173 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 2.46
Rank movement Down 270 places
2020
#4,833
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,092
-163 bearers (-2.2%)
Per 100,000 2.37
Rank movement Up 26 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,589 | 7,082 | 2.63 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,859 | 7,255 | 2.46 | +173 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 270 places |
| 2020 | #4,833 | 7,092 | 2.37 | -163 bearers (-2.2%) | Up 26 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 Speed 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 | #4,859 | #4,833 | 0.5% |
| Count | 7,255 | 7,092 | -2.2% |
| Per 100K | 2.46 | 2.37 | -3.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Speed bearers went from 7,255 to 7,092 (-2.2% change). The surname moved up 26 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,859 to #4,833.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Speed
FAQ
Speed surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Speed?
Name Census estimates that about 8,133 living Americans carry the surname Speed. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 42,144 residents.
How common is Speed?
Speed ranks #4,833 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.37 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,092 people with the surname Speed. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,133), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.37 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.37 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Speed.
Has Speed become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Speed went from 7,255 recorded bearers to 7,092. That is a decrease of 163 (-2.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,859 to #4,833.
What does the Census say about the background of Speed?
Among Census respondents with the surname Speed, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.9%. The next largest groups are Black (35.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Speed in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.9% (3,966 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Speed appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (55.9%), Black (35.6%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Speed (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 Speed mean?
An English occupational surname referring to someone who traveled expeditiously or conveyed messages swiftly. 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 Speed (2.37 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 Speed?
Find out how many people have the surname Speed on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.