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

Babcock, 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 Babcock surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Babcock in America

Babcock is the 1638th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Babcock surname appeared 22,016 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Babcock.

We can also compare 2010 data for Babcock 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 Babcock

The surname Babcock is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "bab" meaning "child" and "cocc" meaning "dweller". It was initially a descriptive name given to a child living in a certain area or village. Historically, the name first appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Babecoc" in Somerset, England.

During the Middle Ages, the name was primarily found in the counties of Somerset, Dorset, and Devon in South West England. Variations in spelling included Babcok, Babcoke, and Babcoke. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is Walter Babcok, who was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1191.

In the 13th century, the surname Babcock began appearing in various historical records, such as the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, where a John Babcok is mentioned. The name also appeared in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of Somerset in 1327, with an entry for a Richard Babcok.

Notable individuals with the surname Babcock throughout history include:

1. William Babcock (c.1435-1504), an English merchant and alderman of Bristol, who served as Mayor of Bristol in 1484 and 1496.
2. James Babcock (1570-1624), an English colonist and one of the founders of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607.
3. Rowland Babcock (1608-1672), an early settler of Westerly, Rhode Island, and a member of the General Court of Connecticut.
4. Nehemiah Babcock (1725-1799), an American soldier who served in the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War.
5. Orville Elias Babcock (1835-1884), a Union Army officer during the American Civil War and later served as Secretary to President Ulysses S. Grant.

The name Babcock has also been associated with various place names, such as Babcok Cove in Rhode Island and Babcock Creek in Pennsylvania, reflecting the historical presence of individuals bearing this surname in those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Babcock

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

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

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

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