2000
#121,780
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Columber
A surname derived from the Latin "columba" meaning dove or pigeon.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Columber. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Columber 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Columber in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Columber, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Columber
The surname Columber has its origins in the Old English word "colmor," which means "charcoal burner." This occupation-based surname was first recorded in the county of Staffordshire in England during the late 12th century.
The earliest known bearer of the name was Willelmus Colmour, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire in 1195. These rolls were a collection of financial records kept by the English Exchequer during the reign of King Richard I.
By the 13th century, variations of the name had spread to other parts of England, with records showing Walter Colmere in Oxfordshire in 1279 and Reginald Colmor in Warwickshire in 1296. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and differences in spelling conventions at the time.
In the Domesday Book, a great survey of landholdings commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, there are no direct mentions of the Columber surname. However, the village of Colmar in Staffordshire is listed, possibly indicating a connection to the name's origins as a place of charcoal burning.
Notable individuals with the Columber surname throughout history include John Columber, a merchant from London who was granted a license to trade with the Hanseatic League in 1418. Another was Sir William Columber, a knight who fought alongside King Edward III at the Battle of Crécy during the Hundred Years' War in 1346.
In the 16th century, Thomas Columber (1505-1567) was a renowned printer and publisher based in London, responsible for printing works by notable authors such as John Foxe and John Bale. His grandson, Henry Columber (1560-1622), was a respected mathematician and astronomer who made contributions to the development of logarithms.
During the English Civil War, Captain Robert Columber (1618-1679) was a Royalist officer who served in the King's army and was present at the pivotal Battle of Naseby in 1645. His son, Edward Columber (1642-1718), was a Member of Parliament for the borough of Southwark in the late 17th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Columber
Among Census respondents with the surname Columber, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Columber 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 Columber surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 109
Timeline
Historical Census data for Columber
Columber 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
#134,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
-6 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,932 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-16 bearers (-12.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,493 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #121,780 | 131 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #134,712 | 125 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 12,932 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -16 bearers (-12.8%) | Down 15,493 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 Columber 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 | #134,712 | #150,205 | -11.5% |
| Count | 125 | 109 | -12.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Columber bearers went from 125 to 109 (-12.8% change). The surname moved down 15,493 positions in the national ranking, going from #134,712 to #150,205.
FAQ
Columber surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Columber?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Columber. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Columber?
Columber ranks #150,205 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 109 people with the surname Columber. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Columber.
Has Columber become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Columber went from 125 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 16 (-12.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #134,712 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Columber?
Among Census respondents with the surname Columber, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Columber in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Columber appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Columber (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 Columber mean?
A surname derived from the Latin "columba" meaning dove or pigeon. 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 Columber (0.04 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 Columber?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Columber at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.