2000
#1,135
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 28,210
First available Census row
Per 100,000 10.46
Uncommon Last name
Starr
An occupational surname referring to a person who worked as a asterisk maker, steward, or synagogue official.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 33,724 Americans carry the last name Starr. That puts it at #1,176 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 9.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 10,164 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Starr 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 Starr with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
34K
1 in 10,164
Census rank
#1,176
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
9.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
29K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 29,409 bearers of the surname Starr in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 9.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1176th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Starr, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Black (8.2%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Starr
The surname Starr has its origins in England and dates back to the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "steorra," meaning "star." The name may have been initially given as a nickname to someone who was particularly bright, shining, or radiant.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land and property commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are several entries that include the name Starr or variations of it, such as Sterre and Starre. This suggests that the name was already established in various parts of England by the late 11th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Starr can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire from 1199, where a person named Ralph le Starr is mentioned. The use of the prefix "le" before the surname indicates that it was a descriptive name at that time.
The name Starr has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the most famous was John Starr, who lived from 1628 to 1670 and was an English Puritan minister and author. He was known for his influential writings on theology and his support for the Commonwealth during the English Civil War.
Another notable figure with the surname Starr was Jocelyn Starr, who lived from 1476 to 1538 and was an English courtier and Member of Parliament during the reign of Henry VIII. He served as the Keeper of the Privy Seal and was involved in various diplomatic missions.
In the 18th century, Thomas Starr (1728-1808) was a prominent English-born American mathematician and astronomer. He served as a professor at Harvard College and made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics.
The name Starr has also been associated with places and geographic features. For example, Starr County in Texas was named after James Harper Starr, an American soldier and politician who lived from 1809 to 1890 and served as the Secretary of the Treasury under President James K. Polk.
Other notable individuals with the surname Starr include Belle Starr (1848-1889), an American outlaw and horse thief who operated in the American Old West, and Edwin Starr (1942-2003), an American soul singer best known for his hit song "War."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Starr
Among Census respondents with the surname Starr, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Black (8.2%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Starr 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 Starr surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.0% · 23,514
- Black or African American8.2% · 2,411
- Two or more races4.6% · 1,364
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 1,123
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.6% · 773
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 224
Timeline
Historical Census data for Starr
Starr 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
#1,158
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 30,363
+2,153 bearers (+7.6%)
Per 100,000 10.29
Rank movement Down 23 places
2020
#1,176
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,409
-954 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 9.84
Rank movement Down 18 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,135 | 28,210 | 10.46 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,158 | 30,363 | 10.29 | +2,153 bearers (+7.6%) | Down 23 places |
| 2020 | #1,176 | 29,409 | 9.84 | -954 bearers (-3.1%) | Down 18 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 Starr 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 | #1,158 | #1,176 | -1.6% |
| Count | 30,363 | 29,409 | -3.1% |
| Per 100K | 10.29 | 9.84 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Starr bearers went from 30,363 to 29,409 (-3.1% change). The surname moved down 18 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,158 to #1,176.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Starr
FAQ
Starr surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Starr?
Name Census estimates that about 33,724 living Americans carry the surname Starr. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 10,164 residents.
How common is Starr?
Starr ranks #1,176 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 9.84 per 100,000 residents, which is about 10 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 29,409 people with the surname Starr. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (33,724), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 9.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 9.84 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 10 of them to have the surname Starr.
Has Starr become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Starr went from 30,363 recorded bearers to 29,409. That is a decrease of 954 (-3.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,158 to #1,176.
What does the Census say about the background of Starr?
Among Census respondents with the surname Starr, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Black (8.2%) 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 Starr in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.0% (23,514 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Starr appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.0%), Black (8.2%), 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 Starr (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 Starr mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who worked as a asterisk maker, steward, or synagogue official. 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 Starr (9.84 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 share the surname Starr?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.