2000
#1,890
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,422
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.46
Uncommon Last name
Triplett
An English occupational surname referring to a maker or player of a stringed musical instrument with three strings.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 19,774 Americans carry the last name Triplett. That puts it at #2,048 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 17,334 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Triplett 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.
Bearers in the US
20K
1 in 17,334
Census rank
#2,048
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 17,244 bearers of the surname Triplett in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2048th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Triplett, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.1%. The next largest groups are Black (29.3%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Triplett
The surname Triplett is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is thought to be a locational surname, derived from the Old English words "thry" meaning three and "plett" meaning a plot or parcel of land. This suggests the name may have referred to someone who lived on or owned three plots of land.
Records indicate the name was present in various parts of England, including Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Northamptonshire, as early as the 13th century. Variations in spelling, such as Triplet, Tripplet, and Tripplett, were common due to inconsistencies in record-keeping at the time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275, where a William Tripplet is listed. The Hundred Rolls of Buckinghamshire from 1279 also mention a John Tripplet.
In the 14th century, the name appears in the Feet of Fines for Yorkshire in 1347, where a Robert Triplet is mentioned. The Lay Subsidy Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1381 record a John Triplet.
Notable historical figures with the surname Triplett include William Triplett, a 16th-century English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Southwark in 1558. John Triplett (1592-1670) was an English clergyman and academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford.
In the 17th century, Thomas Triplett (1612-1670) was an English clergyman and author, known for his work "A Discourse of the Theorick and Practick of Chirurgery" published in 1649. Samuel Triplett (1609-1670) was an English Puritan minister and author, known for his work "A Brief Treatise of Heroick Vertue" published in 1677.
In the 18th century, John Triplett (1730-1803) was an English clergyman and academic, who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1792 to 1796.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Triplett
Among Census respondents with the surname Triplett, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.1%. The next largest groups are Black (29.3%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Triplett 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 Triplett surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.1% · 10,716
- Black or African American29.3% · 5,057
- Two or more races5.0% · 866
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 431
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 90
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 84
Timeline
Historical Census data for Triplett
Triplett 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
#1,965
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,408
+986 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 6.24
Rank movement Down 75 places
2020
#2,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,244
-1,164 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 5.77
Rank movement Down 83 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,890 | 17,422 | 6.46 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,965 | 18,408 | 6.24 | +986 bearers (+5.7%) | Down 75 places |
| 2020 | #2,048 | 17,244 | 5.77 | -1,164 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 83 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 Triplett 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 | #1,965 | #2,048 | -4.2% |
| Count | 18,408 | 17,244 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 6.24 | 5.77 | -7.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Triplett bearers went from 18,408 to 17,244 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 83 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,965 to #2,048.
FAQ
Triplett surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Triplett?
Name Census estimates that about 19,774 living Americans carry the surname Triplett. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 17,334 residents.
How common is Triplett?
Triplett ranks #2,048 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.77 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 17,244 people with the surname Triplett. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (19,774), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.77 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Triplett.
Has Triplett become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Triplett went from 18,408 recorded bearers to 17,244. That is a decrease of 1,164 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,965 to #2,048.
What does the Census say about the background of Triplett?
Among Census respondents with the surname Triplett, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.1%. The next largest groups are Black (29.3%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Triplett in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.1% (10,716 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Triplett appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (62.1%), Black (29.3%), Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Triplett (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 Triplett mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a maker or player of a stringed musical instrument with three strings. 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 Triplett (5.77 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 Triplett?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.