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

Cogburn, 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 Cogburn surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cogburn in America

Cogburn is the 11688th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cogburn surname appeared 2,681 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 Cogburn.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cogburn 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 Cogburn

Cogburn is an English surname with origins dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English words "cocc" meaning a hill or small elevation, and "burna" meaning a stream or brook. The name likely originated in an area where there was a small stream running down a hillside.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Cogburn surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, where a William Cokeburn is listed. This suggests the name was already established in the East Anglian region by the late 13th century.

In the 14th century, variations such as Cokeburn, Cokbourne, and Cokburne appear in various tax rolls and legal documents across southern England. These early spellings reflect the fluid nature of surname spelling before standardization.

The Cogburn name has ties to several place names in England, such as Cockburn in Yorkshire and Cockburnspath in Berwickshire, Scotland. These locations likely took their names from similar geographical features involving hills and streams.

Notable individuals with the Cogburn surname throughout history include:

1. Sir Alexander Cockburn (1535-1594), Lord of Langton, a Scottish landowner and judge.
2. John Cockburn (1652-1729), a Scottish philosopher and theologian.
3. Sir James Cockburn (1688-1753), Lord Provost of Edinburgh and a prominent figure in the Scottish Enlightenment.
4. Sir George Cockburn (1772-1853), a British naval officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812.
5. Alexander Cockburn (1941-2012), an influential American journalist and author known for his polemical writing.

While the Cogburn name has its roots in England, bearers of the surname can be found throughout the English-speaking world, particularly in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, due to migration patterns over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cogburn

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Cogburn, 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!