How common is the surname Backus?

7,064 people in the United States had the surname Backus in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 43,707 Americans. It ranked 4,974th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Backus?

John Backus, American computer scientist (1924–2007), followed by Jim Backus.

Where is the surname Backus most common?

Wikidata records people named Backus in the United States.

How do you pronounce Backus?

Backus is /ˈbækəs/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Backus getting more or less common?

More common. 6,822 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 7,064 in 2010, up 3.5%.

The surname Backus

An English surname, carried by 7,064 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈbækəs/ 2 syllables Soundex B220

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Backus is more common than 96.9% of them.

Origin

English origin

Inherited from Middle English bakhous (“bakery”), from Old English bæchūs.

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 7,064 people named Backus in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 43,707 Americans. That is up 3.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 6,822.

#4,974

rank among US surnames

7,064

people in 2010

2.4

per 100,000 Americans

+3.5%

change since 2000 (was #4,749)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#4,969	Rudy	7,069	43,676
#4,971	Guido	7,068	43,682
#4,972	Doe	7,066	43,695
#4,974	Backus	7,064	43,707

Who is named Backus

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

87% of people named Backus identified as white (not Hispanic), 8.0% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 87%
Black (not Hispanic) 8.0%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.2%
Two or more races 1.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Backuss

5 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

John Backus
American computer scientist (1924–2007)
Jim Backus
American radio, television, film, and voice actor (1913–1989)
Christopher Backus
American actor, born 1981
Georgia Backus
American actress (1900-1983)
Gus Backus
American singer and actor, 1937–2019

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Bacus

Surnames that sound like Backus

Backus has the Soundex code B220, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code B220.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Backus come from?: Inherited from Middle English bakhous (“bakery”), from Old English bæchūs.
How common is the surname Backus?: 7,064 people in the United States had the surname Backus in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 43,707 Americans. It ranked 4,974th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Backus?: In the 2010 Census, 87% of people named Backus identified as white (not Hispanic), and 8.0% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Backus?: John Backus, American computer scientist (1924–2007), followed by Jim Backus.
Where is the surname Backus most common?: Wikidata records people named Backus in the United States.
How do you pronounce Backus?: Backus is /ˈbækəs/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Backus getting more or less common?: More common. 6,822 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 7,064 in 2010, up 3.5%.
What are other spellings of Backus?: Bacus.