2000
#3,623
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,010
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.34
Rare Last name
Coble
An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "cave" or "cove" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,888 Americans carry the last name Coble. That puts it at #3,997 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 34,664 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Coble 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 Coble with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.9K
1 in 34,664
Census rank
#3,997
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,623 bearers of the surname Coble in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3997th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Coble, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.4%. The next largest groups are Black (6.9%) and Two or More Races (5.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Coble
The surname COBLE has its origins in England, with the earliest records dating back to the late 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "coble," which referred to a small, flat-bottomed boat used for fishing or transportation on rivers and along coastlines.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire, dated 1275, where a William Coble is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already in use as a hereditary surname by this time period.
In the 14th century, the name appears in various tax records and court rolls across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, indicating its prevalence in these regions. The Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1301 list a John Coble, while the Poll Tax Returns of 1379 for Lincolnshire mention a Robert Coble.
The surname COBLE is also found in the Hearth Tax Rolls of the late 17th century, which recorded households based on their number of hearths or fireplaces. In 1672, the rolls for Yorkshire list several COBLE families, including those of William Coble in Wakefield and John Coble in Leeds.
One notable individual bearing the COBLE surname was Thomas Coble (1677-1754), an English clergyman and author who served as the Rector of Appleby in Leicestershire. His works include a translation of the Apocryphal book of Ecclesiasticus and a treatise on the Book of Job.
Another historically significant figure was John Coble (1807-1887), a British architect and civil engineer who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Royal Opera House and the Royal Albert Hall.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the COBLE surname can be found in the 1790 Census, where a John Coble is listed as residing in North Carolina. This suggests that the name had already been established in America by the late 18th century.
William Coble (1816-1895), a farmer and businessman from Alamance County, North Carolina, was a prominent figure in the American Civil War. He served as a captain in the Confederate Army and later became a major landowner and industrialist in the postwar era.
John Coble (1865-1944), a lawyer and politician from North Carolina, served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1919 to 1923, representing the 6th congressional district of his state.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Coble
Among Census respondents with the surname Coble, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.4%. The next largest groups are Black (6.9%) and Two or More Races (5.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Coble 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 Coble surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.4% · 7,192
- Black or African American6.9% · 599
- Two or more races5.6% · 482
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 231
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 64
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 55
Timeline
Historical Census data for Coble
Coble 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
#3,846
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,204
+194 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 3.12
Rank movement Down 223 places
2020
#3,997
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,623
-581 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 2.88
Rank movement Down 151 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,623 | 9,010 | 3.34 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,846 | 9,204 | 3.12 | +194 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 223 places |
| 2020 | #3,997 | 8,623 | 2.88 | -581 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 151 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 Coble 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 | #3,846 | #3,997 | -3.9% |
| Count | 9,204 | 8,623 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 3.12 | 2.88 | -7.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Coble bearers went from 9,204 to 8,623 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 151 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,846 to #3,997.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Coble
FAQ
Coble surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Coble?
Name Census estimates that about 9,888 living Americans carry the surname Coble. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 34,664 residents.
How common is Coble?
Coble ranks #3,997 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.88 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,623 people with the surname Coble. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,888), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.88 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Coble.
Has Coble become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Coble went from 9,204 recorded bearers to 8,623. That is a decrease of 581 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,846 to #3,997.
What does the Census say about the background of Coble?
Among Census respondents with the surname Coble, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.4%. The next largest groups are Black (6.9%) and Two or More Races (5.6%). 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 Coble in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.4% (7,192 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Coble appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.4%), Black (6.9%), Two or More Races (5.6%). 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 Coble (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 Coble mean?
An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "cave" or "cove" in Old English. 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 Coble (2.88 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 common is the surname Coble?
Find out how common the surname Coble is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.