How common is the last name James?

243,502 people in the United States have the last name James, about 1 in 1,227. It ranks #86 of 156,621 last names in the 2020 Census.

last name

JAMES

#86

of 156,621 last names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
243,502
About
1 in 1,227
This common or more
15.7%
Who bears it

Of the 243,502 people with the last name James, 48.4% reported their origin as White, 38.3% as Black and 4.8% as two or more races. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Spelled almost the same

5 last names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of James, most common first.

Also a first name

As a first name, James ranks #3 of 53,615, with 2,996,421 people. As a baby name it peaked in 1947, with 95,024 births. See James as a first name

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