2010
#150,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Gomba
A surname referring to a vegetable or fungi in Italian or Hungarian culture.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Gomba. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gomba 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Gomba in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gomba, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (19.4%) and Black (16.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gomba
The surname Gomba is believed to have originated in Hungary, with records dating back to the 13th century. It is thought to be derived from the Hungarian word "gomba," which means "mushroom." This could indicate that the name was initially given to someone who lived near or worked with mushrooms, or it may have been a descriptive nickname related to a person's physical appearance or behavior.
One of the earliest known references to the name Gomba can be found in a 13th-century Hungarian document, where a person named "Gombas" was mentioned. This suggests that the name had already been in use for some time before this record.
In the 15th century, a nobleman named Gomba Mátyás (Mathias Gomba) was recorded as owning land in the village of Sajókaza, located in what is now northern Hungary. This suggests that the name had become established among the Hungarian nobility by this time.
In the 16th century, a famous Hungarian poet and humanist named Gombos Bálint (Valentine Gomba) was born in the town of Nagyvárad (now Oradea, Romania). He was known for his Latin poetry and for his work in promoting the study of classical literature in Hungary.
Another notable figure with the surname Gomba was István Gombos (1857-1937), a Hungarian historian and archivist who specialized in the history of the Hungarian Kingdom during the medieval period.
In the early 20th century, a Hungarian-American businessman named Joseph Gomba (1885-1955) founded the Gomba Grocery and Meat Company in Cleveland, Ohio, which became a successful chain of grocery stores in the region.
While the name Gomba is predominantly Hungarian in origin, there are also records of people with this surname in other parts of Central and Eastern Europe, such as Slovakia and Poland, likely due to migration and intermarriage over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gomba
Among Census respondents with the surname Gomba, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (19.4%) and Black (16.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Gomba 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 Gomba surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.3% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander19.4% · 20
- Black or African American16.5% · 17
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 5
- Two or more races2.9% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gomba
Gomba appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-6 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 3,730 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #150,452 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -6 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 3,730 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 Gomba 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 | #150,452 | #154,182 | -2.5% |
| Count | 109 | 103 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gomba bearers went from 109 to 103 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 3,730 positions in the national ranking, going from #150,452 to #154,182.
FAQ
Gomba surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gomba?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Gomba. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Gomba?
Gomba ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 103 people with the surname Gomba. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Gomba.
Has Gomba become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gomba went from 109 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #150,452 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Gomba?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gomba, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (19.4%) and Black (16.5%). 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 Gomba in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.3% (58 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gomba appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (56.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (19.4%), Black (16.5%). 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 Gomba (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 Gomba mean?
A surname referring to a vegetable or fungi in Italian or Hungarian culture. 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 Gomba (0.03 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 Americans have the surname Gomba?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.