Find out how popular the last name Arber is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Arber.
A surname derived from the Old French word "arbre" meaning tree.
Arber, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Arber surname is from the 2010 census data.
Arber is the 75799th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Arber surname appeared 254 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Arber.
We can also compare 2010 data for Arber to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
Rank | 75799 | 63812 | 17.17% |
Count | 254 | 292 | -13.92% |
Proportion per 100k | 0.09 | 0.11 | -20.00% |
The surname Arber is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old English word "arbar," which referred to an arbor or bower, a type of shaded garden shelter or walkway formed by trees or shrubs. This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname for those who worked as gardeners or tended to arbors.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Arber can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from the year 1194, where a person named William Arber is mentioned. The name also appears in various other historical records from the 13th and 14th centuries, such as the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1279 and the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield from 1348.
During the 16th century, the surname Arber was particularly prevalent in the counties of Warwickshire and Staffordshire. In the latter county, the name was associated with the village of Arbury, which was formerly spelled as "Arberey" or "Arbery." This place name likely shares the same etymological root as the surname, further reinforcing the connection to arbors or gardens.
One notable individual with the surname Arber was Edward Arber (c. 1536-1612), a wealthy English merchant and Baptist minister who lived in London. He was a prominent figure in the early Baptist movement and played a role in establishing the first Baptist congregation in England.
Another influential figure was Agnes Arber (1879-1960), a British botanist and plant morphologist. She made significant contributions to the study of plant anatomy and was a pioneer in the field of plant morphology. Her works include "Water Plants: A Study of Aquatic Angiosperms" and "The Mind and the Eye: A Study of the Biologist's Standpoint."
In the realm of literature, Edward Arber (1836-1912) was a renowned English scholar and editor. He is best known for his extensive work in publishing and editing early English literary texts, including the complete works of John Milton and the first folio edition of Shakespeare's plays.
Thomas Arber (1833-1902) was a British botanist and geologist who made significant contributions to the study of fossil plants. He published several works on paleobotany, including "Catalogue of the Fossil Plants of the Glossopteris Flora" and "On the Fossil Flora of the Radstock Series of the Somerset and Bristol Coal Field."
Finally, Edward Alexander Arber (1876-1957) was a British botanist and plant physiologist. He served as the professor of botany at the University of Cambridge and was known for his research on plant growth and development, particularly in relation to the effects of environmental factors.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Arber.
The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Arber was:
Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
---|---|---|
Non-Hispanic White Only | 89.76% | 228 |
Non-Hispanic Black Only | (S)% | (S) |
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | 3.54% | 9 |
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.00% | 0 |
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | (S)% | (S) |
Hispanic Origin | 4.72% | 12 |
Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.
Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Arber has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
White | 89.76% | 90.07% | -0.34% |
Black | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
Asian and Pacific Islander | 3.54% | 2.40% | 38.38% |
American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.00% | (S)% | (S)% |
Two or More Races | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
Hispanic | 4.72% | 4.45% | 5.89% |
The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.
The history and meaning of the name Arber was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
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<a href="http://namecensus.com/last-names/arber-surname-popularity/">Arber last name popularity, history, and meaning</a>
"Arber last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 23, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/arber-surname-popularity/.
"Arber last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/arber-surname-popularity/. Accessed 23 October, 2025
Arber last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/arber-surname-popularity/.
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