2000
#31,774
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 687
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.25
Very Rare Last name
Bamber
An English surname originally referring to a person from the town of Bamber in Lancashire.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 772 Americans carry the last name Bamber. That puts it at #35,883 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 443,982 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bamber 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 Bamber with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
772
1 in 443,982
Census rank
#35,883
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
673
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 673 bearers of the surname Bamber in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 35883rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bamber, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bamber
The surname Bamber originates from the northern English counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire, with records dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to be a locational name derived from the Old English words "bean" meaning bean and "byr" meaning farm, referring to a bean farm or a place where beans were grown.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1297, where a William de Bamber is mentioned. In the 14th century, the surname appeared in various forms, such as Bamber, Baumforth, and Bawnforth, reflecting the regional dialects and spelling variations of the time.
The Bamber name is also closely associated with the town of Poulton-le-Fylde in Lancashire, where a notable Bamber family resided in the 16th century. In the Visitation of Lancashire in 1613, the Bamber family of Poulton is recorded with their coat of arms, indicating their status as landed gentry.
Historical figures with the Bamber surname include Sir James Bamber (1643-1718), a wealthy merchant and Member of Parliament for Preston in the late 17th century. Another notable individual was Edward Bamber (1784-1857), a prominent architect who designed several churches and public buildings in Lancashire during the early 19th century.
In the literary world, Jasper Bamfer (1914-1986) was an English writer and poet known for his works on nature and rural life. His collection of poems, "The Tall Country," published in 1948, received critical acclaim.
During the English Civil War, Colonel John Bamber (c. 1620-1667) was a Royalist officer who fought for King Charles I and was later executed for his involvement in the Bolton Massacre of 1644.
The Bamber surname has also been associated with various place names in Lancashire, such as Bamber Bridge, a town near Preston, and Bamber Carr, a hamlet in the Ribble Valley. These place names further reinforce the locational origins of the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bamber
Among Census respondents with the surname Bamber, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Bamber 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 Bamber surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.9% · 598
- Two or more races4.2% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 25
- Black or African American1.9% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bamber
Bamber 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
#34,618
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 653
-34 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.22
Rank movement Down 2,844 places
2020
#35,883
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 673
+20 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 0.23
Rank movement Down 1,265 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #31,774 | 687 | 0.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #34,618 | 653 | 0.22 | -34 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 2,844 places |
| 2020 | #35,883 | 673 | 0.23 | +20 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 1,265 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 Bamber 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 | #34,618 | #35,883 | -3.7% |
| Count | 653 | 673 | 3.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.22 | 0.23 | 2.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bamber bearers went from 653 to 673 (+3.1% change). The surname moved down 1,265 positions in the national ranking, going from #34,618 to #35,883.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Bamber
FAQ
Bamber surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bamber?
Name Census estimates that about 772 living Americans carry the surname Bamber. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 443,982 residents.
How common is Bamber?
Bamber ranks #35,883 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.23 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 673 people with the surname Bamber. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (772), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.23 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Bamber.
Has Bamber become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bamber went from 653 recorded bearers to 673. That is an increase of 20 (+3.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #34,618 to #35,883.
What does the Census say about the background of Bamber?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bamber, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Bamber in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.9% (598 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bamber appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.9%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Bamber (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 Bamber mean?
An English surname originally referring to a person from the town of Bamber in Lancashire. 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 Bamber (0.23 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 have the last name Bamber?
Want to know how many people have the surname Bamber? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.