How common is the surname Calhoun?

43,180 people in the United States had the surname Calhoun in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 7,150 Americans. It ranked 803rd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Calhoun?

Lee Calhoun, athletics competitor (1933–1989), followed by Rory Calhoun.

Where is the surname Calhoun most common?

Wikidata records people named Calhoun in the United States.

Is the surname Calhoun getting more or less common?

More common. 41,452 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 43,180 in 2010, up 4.2%.

The surname Calhoun

An Irish surname, carried by 43,180 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex C450

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Calhoun is more common than 99.5% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

Common anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Colquhoun.

One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 43,180 people named Calhoun in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 7,150 Americans. That is up 4.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 41,452.

#803

rank among US surnames

43,180

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+4.2%

change since 2000 (was #757)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#794	McCall	43,483	7,100
#795	O'Donnell	43,460	7,104
#796	Stein	43,389	7,116
#797	Browning	43,329	7,126
#798	Stout	43,305	7,130
#799	Lowery	43,278	7,134
#800	Sloan	43,261	7,137

Who is named Calhoun

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

62% of people named Calhoun identified as white (not Hispanic), 33% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.3% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 62%
Black (not Hispanic) 33%
Two or more races 2.3%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.1%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Calhouns

14 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Lee Calhoun
Athletics competitor (1933–1989)
Rory Calhoun
American actor (1922–1999)
John B. Calhoun
American ethologist and behavioral researcher (1917–1995)
Alice Calhoun
American silent film actress (1900-1966)
Will Calhoun
American musician, born 1964
Monica Calhoun
American actress (born 1971)
Jim Calhoun
American basketball player and coach, born 1942
Craig Calhoun
American sociologist, born 1952
Corky Calhoun
American basketball player (born 1950)
Dave Calhoun
American businessperson and corporate director, President and CEO, The Boeing Company, born 1957
Jean Calhoun
Actress (1891-1958)
Bill Calhoun
American basketball player, 1927–2024

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Calhoun

Calhoun has the Soundex code C450, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code C450.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Calhoun come from?: Common anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Colquhoun.
How common is the surname Calhoun?: 43,180 people in the United States had the surname Calhoun in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 7,150 Americans. It ranked 803rd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Calhoun?: In the 2010 Census, 62% of people named Calhoun identified as white (not Hispanic), and 33% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Calhoun?: Lee Calhoun, athletics competitor (1933–1989), followed by Rory Calhoun.
Where is the surname Calhoun most common?: Wikidata records people named Calhoun in the United States.
Is the surname Calhoun getting more or less common?: More common. 41,452 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 43,180 in 2010, up 4.2%.