Cobian last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Cobian

A Spanish surname derived from the word "cobo," meaning a person who herded cattle or worked with livestock.

Cobian, 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 Cobian surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cobian in America

Cobian is the 9192nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cobian surname appeared 3,548 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Cobian.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cobian 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 9192 11126 -19.04%
Count 3,548 2,616 30.24%
Proportion per 100k 1.20 0.97 21.20%

The history of the last name Cobian

The surname Cobian is believed to have originated in Spain, with its earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. The name is derived from the Spanish word "cobia," which refers to a type of fish found in the coastal waters of the Iberian Peninsula.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Cobian name can be found in the baptismal records of the Church of Santa Maria la Blanca in Seville, Spain, where a Rodrigo Cobian was baptized in 1587. This suggests that the name may have its roots in the southern region of Andalusia.

During the 17th century, the Cobian name appears to have spread to other parts of Spain, with mentions of individuals bearing this surname in various historical documents and records. In 1629, a Juan Cobian was listed as a landowner in the town of Villanueva de la Serena, situated in the province of Badajoz.

The Cobian surname is also linked to the coastal town of Cobian, located in the municipality of Sanxenxo, in the province of Pontevedra, Galicia. It is possible that the name originated from this place name, which itself may have been derived from the word "cobia," referring to the fish.

One notable individual with the Cobian surname was Manuel Cobian y Roffignac (1768-1836), a Spanish military officer and politician who served as the Governor of Puerto Rico from 1823 to 1824. Another historical figure was Pedro Cobian de Carranza (1550-1620), a Spanish nobleman and military commander who played a significant role in the Spanish conquest of the Philippines.

In the 19th century, the Cobian name can be found in various parts of the Spanish-speaking world, including Latin American countries. For instance, José María Cobian (1804-1891) was a Mexican politician and jurist who served as the Governor of the state of Jalisco from 1855 to 1856.

Juan Esteban Cobian (1875-1942) was a prominent Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the Minister of Justice and Public Instruction during the presidency of Hipólito Yrigoyen. Additionally, Julio Cesar Cobian (1896-1966) was a notable Peruvian poet and writer, known for his contributions to the avant-garde literary movement in his country.

While the Cobian surname may have evolved and spread across different regions over time, its origins can be traced back to Spain, with a strong connection to the coastal areas and the meaning associated with the word "cobia," a type of fish found in those waters.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cobian

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

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 Cobian was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 6.51% 231
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.14% 5
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 93.04% 3,301

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 Cobian has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 6.51% 6.80% -4.36%
Black (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.14% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races (S)% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 93.04% 92.85% 0.20%

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

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Cobian last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 4, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/cobian-surname-popularity/.

"Cobian last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/cobian-surname-popularity/. Accessed 4 October, 2024

Cobian last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/cobian-surname-popularity/.

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