2000
#68,782
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 267
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.10
Very Rare Last name
Colbourne
An English place name transferred to a surname meaning "cool stream."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 375 Americans carry the last name Colbourne. That puts it at #65,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.11 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 914,012 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Colbourne 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 Colbourne with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
375
1 in 914,012
Census rank
#65,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
327
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 327 bearers of the surname Colbourne in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.11 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 65511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Colbourne, the largest self-reported group is White at 43.7%. The next largest groups are Black (36.1%) and Hispanic (15.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Colbourne
The surname Colbourne originates from England and dates back to the 13th century. It is a locational name derived from the village of Colburn in North Yorkshire, which was recorded as Coleburne in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name is thought to have evolved from the Old English words "col" meaning "charcoal" and "burna" meaning "stream," referring to a stream where charcoal was once made.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Walter de Coleburn, who is mentioned in the Assize Court Rolls of Yorkshire in 1219. The surname also appears in various medieval records, such as the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where it is recorded as Colburne.
In the 16th century, the name was sometimes spelled as Colborne or Colburne. One notable individual from this period was John Colborne, who was born in Lincolnshire in 1558 and served as a Member of Parliament for Grantham.
The Colbourne surname continued to be prominent in England throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Sir John Colborne, born in 1778, was a British Army officer who served as Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (now Ontario) from 1828 to 1836. He was instrumental in suppressing the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837-1838.
Another notable figure was Robert Colbourne, born in 1683 in Wiltshire, who was a renowned architect and designed several churches and country houses in the early 18th century.
In the 19th century, the Colbourne surname spread to other parts of the British Empire. One example is Henry Colbourne, born in 1821 in County Armagh, Ireland, who emigrated to Australia and became a successful businessman and landowner in New South Wales.
Other historical figures with the Colbourne surname include Edward Colbourne, a British soldier and explorer who participated in the Nile Expedition of 1884-1885, and Sir John Colbourne Wilkinson, born in 1809, who was a British diplomat and served as Minister Plenipotentiary to the Sublime Porte (Ottoman Empire) in the 1860s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Colbourne
Among Census respondents with the surname Colbourne, the largest self-reported group is White at 43.7%. The next largest groups are Black (36.1%) and Hispanic (15.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Colbourne 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 Colbourne surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White43.7% · 143
- Black or African American36.1% · 118
- Hispanic or Latino15.0% · 49
- Two or more races3.7% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Colbourne
Colbourne 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
#65,782
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 301
+34 bearers (+12.7%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Up 3,000 places
2020
#65,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 327
+26 bearers (+8.6%)
Per 100,000 0.11
Rank movement Up 271 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #68,782 | 267 | 0.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #65,782 | 301 | 0.10 | +34 bearers (+12.7%) | Up 3,000 places |
| 2020 | #65,511 | 327 | 0.11 | +26 bearers (+8.6%) | Up 271 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 Colbourne 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 | #65,782 | #65,511 | 0.4% |
| Count | 301 | 327 | 8.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.10 | 0.11 | 9.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Colbourne bearers went from 301 to 327 (+8.6% change). The surname moved up 271 positions in the national ranking, going from #65,782 to #65,511.
FAQ
Colbourne surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Colbourne?
Name Census estimates that about 375 living Americans carry the surname Colbourne. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 914,012 residents.
How common is Colbourne?
Colbourne ranks #65,511 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.11 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 327 people with the surname Colbourne. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (375), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.11 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.11 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 Colbourne.
Has Colbourne become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Colbourne went from 301 recorded bearers to 327. That is an increase of 26 (+8.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #65,782 to #65,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Colbourne?
Among Census respondents with the surname Colbourne, the largest self-reported group is White at 43.7%. The next largest groups are Black (36.1%) and Hispanic (15.0%). 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 Colbourne in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.7% (143 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Colbourne appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (43.7%), Black (36.1%), Hispanic (15.0%). 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 Colbourne (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 Colbourne mean?
An English place name transferred to a surname meaning "cool stream." 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 Colbourne (0.11 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 have the last name Colbourne?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Colbourne, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.