Gamber last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Gamber

A surname derived from an old French term for "leg" or "stride".

Gamber, 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 Gamber surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gamber in America

Gamber is the 18423rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gamber surname appeared 1,503 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 Gamber.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gamber 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 18423 17582 4.67%
Count 1,503 1,474 1.95%
Proportion per 100k 0.51 0.55 -7.55%

The history of the last name Gamber

The surname GAMBER originated in Germany during the late medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the German word "Gamber," which refers to a person who limps or walks with a limp. This suggests that the name may have originated as a nickname for someone with a distinctive gait.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the GAMBER surname can be found in the town records of Nuremberg, Germany, dating back to the 16th century. In 1523, a man named Hans GAMBER was listed as a resident of the city. This indicates that the name was already well-established in the region by that time.

During the 17th century, the GAMBER surname began to spread beyond the borders of Germany. In 1642, a man named Johann GAMBER was recorded as having settled in the town of Strasbourg, which was then part of the Holy Roman Empire (now located in modern-day France).

The GAMBER name has also been associated with various place names throughout Germany. For instance, there is a village called Gamberg in the state of Bavaria, which may have been the original homeland of some GAMBER families.

One notable individual bearing the GAMBER surname was Johann Georg GAMBER (1765-1844), a German composer and organist who lived and worked in the city of Nuremberg. His compositions, primarily written for the organ, were widely performed in churches throughout the region during his lifetime.

Another historical figure with the GAMBER name was Friedrich GAMBER (1824-1899), a German Catholic theologian and writer. He was a professor at the University of Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) and is known for his works on liturgy and church history.

In the 19th century, the GAMBER surname also found its way to the United States through German immigration. One notable American bearing this name was Henry GAMBER (1842-1910), a businessman and politician from Pennsylvania. He served as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate from 1895 to 1899.

Overall, the surname GAMBER has a rich history rooted in medieval Germany, with its origins likely stemming from a descriptive nickname. While it may have started as a local name, it eventually spread to other parts of Europe and later to the United States, carried by German immigrants seeking new opportunities.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gamber

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

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 Gamber was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 94.34% 1,418
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.53% 8
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 1.20% 18
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.93% 14
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.26% 19
Hispanic Origin 1.73% 26

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 Gamber has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 94.34% 95.93% -1.67%
Black 0.53% 0.61% -14.04%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.20% 0.75% 46.15%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.93% 1.09% -15.84%
Two or More Races 1.26% 0.88% 35.51%
Hispanic 1.73% 0.75% 79.03%

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Gamber, please contact us.

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"Gamber last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/gamber-surname-popularity/.

"Gamber last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/gamber-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Gamber last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/gamber-surname-popularity/.

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