2000
#119,644
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 134
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Cubie
A surname derived from the Scottish Gaelic word 'cub' meaning a small enclosure or pen.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Cubie. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cubie 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Cubie in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cubie, the largest self-reported group is Black at 54.5%. The next largest groups are White (30.6%) and Two or More Races (6.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cubie
The surname Cubie is of Scottish origin, deriving from the Gaelic word "cuib" which means "a bending" or "a curve". It is believed to have originated in the 12th century, referring to individuals who lived near a bend in a river or other geographical feature.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the Shetland Islands of Scotland, where it was spelled as "Cubbie" or "Cubey". Some of the earliest known bearers of this surname were Willelmus Cubby, who was listed in the Court Books of Orkney and Shetland in 1498, and Jacobus Cubey, who was mentioned in the same records in 1512.
In the 16th century, the name Cubie started to appear in various Scottish records, such as the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, where a certain John Cubie was recorded as a tenant in Linlithgowshire in 1538.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Cubie was Sir William Cubie (1572-1647), a Scottish landowner and member of the Parliament of Scotland. He was a staunch supporter of the Covenanters during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
Another prominent figure was Robert Cubie (1685-1765), a Scottish minister and author who served as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1747.
In the 18th century, the name Cubie was found in various parts of Scotland, including Lanarkshire, where a family by the name of Cubie owned lands near the village of Carnwath.
One of the most well-known bearers of the Cubie surname was William Cubie Wilkins (1833-1892), a Scottish-born American politician who served as the 12th United States Secretary of War from 1880 to 1881.
The name Cubie has also been associated with place names in Scotland, such as Cubie Muir, a moorland area located in East Ayrshire, and Cubie Hill, a hill near the village of Cumbernauld in North Lanarkshire.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cubie
Among Census respondents with the surname Cubie, the largest self-reported group is Black at 54.5%. The next largest groups are White (30.6%) and Two or More Races (6.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Cubie 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 Cubie surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American54.5% · 66
- White30.6% · 37
- Two or more races6.6% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cubie
Cubie 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
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-15 bearers (-11.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 20,513 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+2 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,152 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #119,644 | 134 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | -15 bearers (-11.2%) | Down 20,513 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 1,152 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 Cubie 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 | #140,157 | #141,309 | -0.8% |
| Count | 119 | 121 | 1.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cubie bearers went from 119 to 121 (+1.7% change). The surname moved down 1,152 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #141,309.
FAQ
Cubie surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cubie?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Cubie. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Cubie?
Cubie ranks #141,309 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 121 people with the surname Cubie. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), 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 Cubie.
Has Cubie become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cubie went from 119 recorded bearers to 121. That is an increase of 2 (+1.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Cubie?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cubie, the largest self-reported group is Black at 54.5%. The next largest groups are White (30.6%) and Two or More Races (6.6%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Cubie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.5% (66 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cubie appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (54.5%), White (30.6%), Two or More Races (6.6%). 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 Cubie (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 Cubie mean?
A surname derived from the Scottish Gaelic word 'cub' meaning a small enclosure or pen. 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 Cubie (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 surname Cubie?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.