2000
#5,815
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,446
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.02
Rare Last name
Baber
An English occupational surname referring to a barber or a person who shaves and trims hair.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,902 Americans carry the last name Baber. That puts it at #6,352 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 58,074 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Baber surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Baber with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.9K
1 in 58,074
Census rank
#6,352
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,147 bearers of the surname Baber in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6352nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Baber, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.9%. The next largest groups are Black (11.9%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Baber
The surname Baber has its origins in India, where it is believed to have first emerged during the 16th century. It is derived from the Persian word "babur," which translates to "tiger" or "panther." This surname is closely associated with the Mughal Empire and its founder, Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur.
Babur, who lived from 1483 to 1530, was a direct descendant of Timur (also known as Tamerlane) and the first Mughal emperor of India. He left a detailed memoir, the Baburnama, which provides valuable insights into his life and the early years of the Mughal dynasty.
The surname Baber can be traced back to the Timurid dynasty, which ruled parts of Central Asia and Persia from the 14th to the 16th century. It is believed that some members of this dynasty adopted the surname Baber as a reference to their illustrious ancestor, Babur.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Baber can be found in the Akbarnama, a historical work written in the 16th century that chronicles the life and reign of Akbar, the third Mughal emperor and the son of Humayun. The Akbarnama mentions several individuals with the surname Baber who served in the Mughal court or held important positions during Akbar's reign.
Another notable figure with the surname Baber was Noor Jehan Begum, also known as Nur Jahan, who lived from 1577 to 1645. She was the wife of Jahangir, the fourth Mughal emperor, and is renowned for her intelligence, beauty, and political influence during her husband's reign.
In later centuries, the surname Baber continued to be associated with individuals of notable standing in various fields. For example, Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib, one of the most celebrated poets of the Urdu language, was born in 1797 to a family with the surname Baber.
Additionally, Sir David Baber, born in 1775, was a British colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Bombay from 1827 to 1832. He played a significant role in the expansion of British influence in India during the early 19th century.
While the surname Baber has its roots in India and Central Asia, it has since spread to other parts of the world, with individuals bearing this name contributing to various fields and leaving their mark on history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Baber
Among Census respondents with the surname Baber, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.9%. The next largest groups are Black (11.9%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Baber bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Baber surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.9% · 3,904
- Black or African American11.9% · 612
- Two or more races4.4% · 227
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 196
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.6% · 185
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Baber
Baber appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#6,244
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,474
+28 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 1.86
Rank movement Down 429 places
2020
#6,352
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,147
-327 bearers (-6.0%)
Per 100,000 1.72
Rank movement Down 108 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,815 | 5,446 | 2.02 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,244 | 5,474 | 1.86 | +28 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 429 places |
| 2020 | #6,352 | 5,147 | 1.72 | -327 bearers (-6.0%) | Down 108 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Baber surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #6,244 | #6,352 | -1.7% |
| Count | 5,474 | 5,147 | -6.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.86 | 1.72 | -7.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Baber bearers went from 5,474 to 5,147 (-6.0% change). The surname moved down 108 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,244 to #6,352.
FAQ
Baber surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Baber?
Name Census estimates that about 5,902 living Americans carry the surname Baber. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 58,074 residents.
How common is Baber?
Baber ranks #6,352 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.72 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,147 people with the surname Baber. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,902), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.72 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Baber.
Has Baber become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Baber went from 5,474 recorded bearers to 5,147. That is a decrease of 327 (-6.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,244 to #6,352.
What does the Census say about the background of Baber?
Among Census respondents with the surname Baber, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.9%. The next largest groups are Black (11.9%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Baber in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.9% (3,904 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Baber appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.9%), Black (11.9%), Two or More Races (4.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Baber (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Baber mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a barber or a person who shaves and trims hair. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Baber (1.72 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Baber?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.