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

Gembe, 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 Gembe surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gembe in America

Gembe is the 76029th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gembe surname appeared 253 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Gembe.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gembe 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 Gembe

The surname Gembe is believed to have originated in the Netherlands, likely in the 16th or 17th century. It is thought to be derived from the Dutch word "gembe," which means "a small bay or inlet." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a small bay or inlet, perhaps a fisherman or someone involved in maritime activities.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gembe can be found in the Dutch provincial records of Zeeland, dating back to the late 16th century. There is a reference to a Pieter Gembe, a merchant and ship owner from the town of Middelburg, who lived around 1580.

In the 17th century, the name appears to have spread to other parts of the Netherlands, as well as to some of the Dutch colonies. For example, there are records of a Jan Gembe, a farmer from the village of Oud-Beijerland in the province of South Holland, who lived in the late 1600s.

In the 18th century, the Gembe surname can be found in various Dutch records, including church registers and municipal archives. One notable individual was Cornelis Gembe, a prominent lawyer and politician from Amsterdam, who lived from 1725 to 1789.

As the Dutch colonial empire expanded, the name Gembe also spread to other parts of the world, particularly to the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia) and the Dutch West Indies (including parts of the Caribbean). In the 19th century, there are records of a Pieter Gembe, a plantation owner in Suriname, who lived from 1812 to 1878.

Another significant figure was Willem Gembe, a Dutch explorer and naturalist who traveled extensively in the East Indies in the late 19th century. He was born in 1843 and made significant contributions to the study of the flora and fauna of the region.

While not as common as some other Dutch surnames, the name Gembe has persisted over the centuries and can still be found in various parts of the world, particularly in the Netherlands and areas with Dutch heritage or colonial connections.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gembe

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

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

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

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