Find out how popular the last name Babbage is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Babbage.

Babbage, 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 Babbage surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Babbage in America

Babbage is the 109758th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Babbage surname appeared 161 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 Babbage.

We can also compare 2010 data for Babbage 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.

The history of the last name Babbage

The surname Babbage is of English origin and dates back to the late medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "bæcce," which referred to a baker or a bakehouse. This occupational surname was likely given to individuals who worked as bakers or were associated with the baking trade.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Babbage can be found in various historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries. For example, it appears in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1279, which mentions a person named Walter le Baggere. The Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327 also contain entries for individuals with the surname Bagge, which is a variant spelling.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Babbage was John Babbage, a Member of Parliament for the borough of Derby during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the late 16th century. He was born around 1540 and died in 1604.

In the 17th century, the surname Babbage was also associated with notable figures such as Walter Babbage, a prominent merchant in the town of Stratton, Cornwall, who lived from 1625 to 1703.

The most famous bearer of the surname Babbage was undoubtedly Charles Babbage (1791-1871), the English mathematician, philosopher, inventor, and mechanical engineer. He is widely regarded as the "father of the computer" for his pioneering work on the Analytical Engine, a mechanical general-purpose computer concept.

Another individual of note was Benjamin Babbage (1757-1833), an English mathematician and inventor who contributed to the development of various machinery and instruments, including a device for measuring the speed of machinery.

In the 19th century, the Babbage surname was also associated with individuals like Augustus Frederick Babbage (1826-1901), an English engineer and inventor, and Charles Whitmore Babbage (1842-1911), a British architect who designed several notable buildings in London.

While the surname Babbage originated as an occupational name in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora. However, its roots can be traced back to the baking trade in medieval England, where individuals associated with this profession were given the surname Babbage or its variants.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Babbage

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Babbage.

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:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Babbage was:

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 Babbage has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

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 Babbage was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Babbage, please contact us.

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