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    The surname Earl

    An occupational surname, carried by 16,027 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /ɝl/ 1 syllable Soundex E640 Also a first name

    Earl: #2,270 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#10,001Dubon Earl #2,270, 16,027 people Earl: #2,270 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez Earl #2,270, 16,027 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Earl is more common than 98.6% of them.

    Origin

    From earl (“nobleman”).

    Earl is an occupational surname: named after the work an ancestor did.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 16,027 people named Earl in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 19,264 Americans. That is up 4.4% since 2000, when the Census counted 15,347.

    #2,270
    rank among US surnames
    16,027
    people in 2010
    5.4
    per 100,000 Americans
    +4.4%
    change since 2000 (was #2,170)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #2,266Dias16,04419,244
    #2,268McNally16,03919,250
    #2,269Schreiber16,03419,256
    #2,270Earl16,02719,264

    Who is named Earl

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

    72% of people named Earl identified as white (not Hispanic), 21% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.7% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

    • White (not Hispanic) 72%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 21%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.7%
    • Two or more races 2.1%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Earls

    10 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Harley Earl
      American designer (1893-1969)
    • Holly Earl
      British actress, born 1992
    • Tony Earl
      American politician (1936–2023)
    • Ralph Earl
      American painter (1751–1801)
    • Jeremiah Robinson-Earl
      American basketball player (born 2000)
    • Ronnie Earl
      American blues guitarist, born 1953
    • Robbie Earl
      American ice hockey player, born 1985
    • Maud Earl
      British artist (1864-1943)
    • Esther Earl
      American author, 1994–2010
    • Acie Earl
      American basketball player (born 1970)

    Notable Earls come mostly from the United States (8) and the United Kingdom (2).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Surnames that sound like Earl

    Earl has the Soundex code E640, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code E640.

    Questions

    Where does the surname Earl come from?
    From earl (“nobleman”).
    How common is the surname Earl?
    16,027 people in the United States had the surname Earl in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 19,264 Americans. It ranked 2,270th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Earl?
    In the 2010 Census, 72% of people named Earl identified as white (not Hispanic), and 21% as Black (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Earl?
    Harley Earl, American designer (1893-1969), followed by Holly Earl.
    Where is the surname Earl most common?
    Wikidata records people named Earl in the United States and the United Kingdom.
    How do you pronounce Earl?
    Earl is /ɝl/, one syllable.
    What type of surname is Earl?
    Earl is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
    Is the surname Earl getting more or less common?
    More common. 15,347 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 16,027 in 2010, up 4.4%.
    Is Earl also a first name?
    Yes. Earl is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.