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

Chambers, 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 Chambers surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Chambers in America

Chambers is the 326th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chambers surname appeared 94,988 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 32 people would have the surname Chambers.

We can also compare 2010 data for Chambers 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 Chambers

The surname Chambers is derived from an Old French word "chambre," which means a room or chamber. It originated in England during the Middle Ages, with the earliest known records dating back to the late 12th century. The name was likely given to someone who worked or lived in a chamber or small room, perhaps as a servant or attendant in a noble household.

One of the earliest mentions of the name Chambers is found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire, dated 1166, which refer to a person named William de la Chambre. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also list a Robert de la Chaumbre in Oxfordshire. These early spellings reflect the French origins of the name and its evolution into the English language.

The Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of English landowners commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain the surname Chambers. However, it does list several places with names derived from the Old English word "ciemer," meaning a chamber or room, such as Ciemere in Gloucestershire and Ciemereswrthe in Wiltshire. These place names may have contributed to the development of the surname Chambers in later centuries.

In the 14th century, the surname began to appear more frequently in various records and manuscripts. One notable example is Sir Robert Chambers, a knight who fought alongside King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War. He was born around 1320 and participated in the Battle of Crécy in 1346.

Another significant figure was Ephraim Chambers (1680-1740), an English writer and encyclopedist best known for publishing the "Cyclopaedia, or a Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences" in 1728. This work was one of the first comprehensive encyclopedias in the English language and a precursor to the Encyclopædia Britannica.

In the 18th century, Sir William Chambers (1723-1796) was a renowned Scottish architect who designed many notable buildings in London, including Somerset House and the Pagoda at Kew Gardens. He was highly influential in introducing the Neoclassical style to British architecture.

The 19th century saw the rise of the Chambers publishing family in Edinburgh, Scotland. Robert Chambers (1802-1871) and his brother William Chambers (1800-1883) founded the publishing firm W. & R. Chambers, which produced educational books, encyclopedias, and literary works.

Another notable figure was Sir Neville Chambers (1859-1945), a British naval officer who served as the Director of Naval Construction and later as the Deputy Controller of the Royal Navy during World War I. He played a crucial role in the development of British warships and naval strategy.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Chambers

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!