2000
#21,958
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.41
Rare Last name
Cobbins
A surname derived from a nickname for a small, neat person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,482 Americans carry the last name Cobbins. That puts it at #20,731 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.43 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 231,278 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cobbins 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.
Bearers in the US
1.5K
1 in 231,278
Census rank
#20,731
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,292 bearers of the surname Cobbins in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.43 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 20731st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cobbins, the largest self-reported group is Black at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and White (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cobbins
The surname COBBINS is an English name with origins dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word "cob", meaning a rounded lump or mass, likely referring to a person's stout or rotund appearance. The name is thought to have originated in the counties of Devon and Cornwall in southwest England.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was William Cobbyns, mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273. Another early reference can be found in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire, where a John Cobbyns is listed in 1326.
The COBBINS surname is not found in the celebrated Domesday Book of 1086, suggesting that it emerged later during the Middle Ages. However, variations in spelling were common in those times, and it's possible the name was recorded under a slightly different form.
Notable individuals with the COBBINS surname throughout history include:
1. Richard Cobbins (c. 1550 - 1630), an English merchant and Member of Parliament for Nottingham in 1597.
2. John Cobbins (1633 - 1687), an English clergyman and writer who served as the Vicar of Watlington, Oxfordshire.
3. Elizabeth Cobbins (1765 - 1824), a British author and poet from Devon, known for her work "The Frugal Housewife" published in 1796.
4. George Cobbins (1792 - 1860), a British soldier who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a police officer in London.
5. William Cobbins (1856 - 1932), a prominent English architect from Somerset responsible for designing several churches and public buildings in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The name COBBINS has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Cobbins Green in Buckinghamshire and Cobbins Farm in Wiltshire, suggesting possible connections to specific locations where the surname originated or where bearers of the name had settled.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cobbins
Among Census respondents with the surname Cobbins, the largest self-reported group is Black at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and White (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Cobbins 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 Cobbins surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American89.9% · 1,162
- Two or more races4.6% · 60
- White3.4% · 44
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cobbins
Cobbins 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
#19,480
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,387
+286 bearers (+26.0%)
Per 100,000 0.47
Rank movement Up 2,478 places
2020
#20,731
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,292
-95 bearers (-6.8%)
Per 100,000 0.43
Rank movement Down 1,251 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #21,958 | 1,101 | 0.41 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #19,480 | 1,387 | 0.47 | +286 bearers (+26.0%) | Up 2,478 places |
| 2020 | #20,731 | 1,292 | 0.43 | -95 bearers (-6.8%) | Down 1,251 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 Cobbins 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 | #19,480 | #20,731 | -6.4% |
| Count | 1,387 | 1,292 | -6.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.47 | 0.43 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cobbins bearers went from 1,387 to 1,292 (-6.8% change). The surname moved down 1,251 positions in the national ranking, going from #19,480 to #20,731.
FAQ
Cobbins surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cobbins?
Name Census estimates that about 1,482 living Americans carry the surname Cobbins. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 231,278 residents.
How common is Cobbins?
Cobbins ranks #20,731 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.43 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 1,292 people with the surname Cobbins. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,482), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.43 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.43 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 Cobbins.
Has Cobbins become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cobbins went from 1,387 recorded bearers to 1,292. That is a decrease of 95 (-6.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #19,480 to #20,731.
What does the Census say about the background of Cobbins?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cobbins, the largest self-reported group is Black at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and White (3.4%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Cobbins in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.9% (1,162 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cobbins appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (89.9%), Two or More Races (4.6%), White (3.4%). 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 Cobbins (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 Cobbins mean?
A surname derived from a nickname for a small, neat person. 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 Cobbins (0.43 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 Cobbins?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.