2000
#1,653
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,886
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.37
Uncommon Last name
Tripp
An occupational surname for someone who traps wild animals or a nickname for a clumsy person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 22,726 Americans carry the last name Tripp. That puts it at #1,764 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 15,082 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tripp 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 Tripp with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
23K
1 in 15,082
Census rank
#1,764
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
20K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 19,818 bearers of the surname Tripp in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1764th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tripp, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.3%. The next largest groups are Black (10.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tripp
The surname Tripp has its origins in England and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "trip," which means "to walk" or "to tread." The name likely referred to someone who frequently traveled or walked long distances.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Tripp can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Norfolk, dated around 1273, where a person named John Tripp was mentioned. Additionally, the Domesday Book, completed in 1086, includes references to place names such as Trippelawe and Trippeshow, which may have influenced the development of the surname.
In the 14th century, the surname appeared in various records, including the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1379, where a person named William Tripp was listed. During this period, the name was also spelled as Trippe, Tryppe, and Trypp.
Notable individuals bearing the surname Tripp throughout history include:
1. John Tripp (c. 1610 - 1681), an English colonist and one of the founders of Newport, Rhode Island.
2. Isaac Tripp (1742 - 1825), an American soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War and later served as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives.
3. John Tripp (1767 - 1848), an English architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in Bath, Somerset.
4. Bartlett Tripp (1761 - 1847), an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts.
5. William Tripp (1786 - 1853), an English engraver and cartographer best known for his work on the Ordnance Survey maps of England and Wales.
The surname Tripp has been associated with various place names in England, such as Tripps Cross in Devon, Tripps Farm in Somerset, and Tripps Mead in Wiltshire. These place names likely derived from individuals bearing the Tripp surname who owned or lived in those locations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tripp
Among Census respondents with the surname Tripp, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.3%. The next largest groups are Black (10.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Tripp 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 Tripp surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.3% · 15,916
- Black or African American10.9% · 2,170
- Two or more races4.1% · 822
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 652
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 143
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 115
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tripp
Tripp 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
#1,753
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,434
+548 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 6.93
Rank movement Down 100 places
2020
#1,764
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,818
-616 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 6.63
Rank movement Down 11 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,653 | 19,886 | 7.37 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,753 | 20,434 | 6.93 | +548 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 100 places |
| 2020 | #1,764 | 19,818 | 6.63 | -616 bearers (-3.0%) | Down 11 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 Tripp 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 | #1,753 | #1,764 | -0.6% |
| Count | 20,434 | 19,818 | -3.0% |
| Per 100K | 6.93 | 6.63 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tripp bearers went from 20,434 to 19,818 (-3.0% change). The surname moved down 11 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,753 to #1,764.
FAQ
Tripp surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tripp?
Name Census estimates that about 22,726 living Americans carry the surname Tripp. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 15,082 residents.
How common is Tripp?
Tripp ranks #1,764 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.63 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 19,818 people with the surname Tripp. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (22,726), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.63 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Tripp.
Has Tripp become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tripp went from 20,434 recorded bearers to 19,818. That is a decrease of 616 (-3.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,753 to #1,764.
What does the Census say about the background of Tripp?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tripp, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.3%. The next largest groups are Black (10.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Tripp in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.3% (15,916 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tripp appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.3%), Black (10.9%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Tripp (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 Tripp mean?
An occupational surname for someone who traps wild animals or a nickname for a clumsy person. 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 Tripp (6.63 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 Tripp?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Tripp, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.