2000
#4,115
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,977
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.96
Rare Last name
Jobe
A variant of the biblical name Job, likely referring to a person who exhibited great patience and endurance.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,587 Americans carry the last name Jobe. That puts it at #4,122 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 35,752 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jobe 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Jobe with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.6K
1 in 35,752
Census rank
#4,122
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,360 bearers of the surname Jobe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4122nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jobe, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.7%. The next largest groups are Black (14.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Jobe
The surname Jobe is an English name that originated from the personal name Job, which itself is derived from the biblical figure of the same name. The name Job can be traced back to the Hebrew word "Iyyob," meaning "persecuted" or "afflicted one."
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Jobe date back to the late 12th century in England. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Jobe, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1191.
Jobe is also believed to have been derived from the Old English word "jobb," meaning a lump or a small piece of land. As such, the surname may have originally been an occupational name for someone who worked on small parcels of land or lived near a hillock.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landholders in England, there are several instances of names that could be potential predecessors of Jobe, such as Iob and Iobbe.
Over the centuries, the name has been spelled in various ways, including Jobbe, Jobb, and Jobbs. Some of these variations may also have been influenced by the Norman-French pronunciation of the name Job.
Notable individuals with the surname Jobe throughout history include:
1. John Jobe (c. 1550-1625), an English Catholic martyr who was executed for his faith during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
2. Joseph Jobe (1778-1850), an American pioneer and frontiersman who was one of the first settlers in the Missouri Territory.
3. Mary Jobe Akeley (1886-1966), an American explorer, writer, and naturalist, known for her work in the Belgian Congo and her contributions to the American Museum of Natural History.
4. Samuel Jobe (1801-1877), a British architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London, including St. Paul's Church in Covent Garden.
5. William Jobe (1832-1905), an American politician who served as the 11th Governor of Nevada from 1895 to 1899.
The surname Jobe has been present in various countries over the years, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and parts of Europe, particularly in areas with historical ties to Britain.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jobe
Among Census respondents with the surname Jobe, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.7%. The next largest groups are Black (14.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Jobe 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 Jobe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.7% · 6,414
- Black or African American14.7% · 1,225
- Two or more races4.2% · 351
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 252
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 71
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 47
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jobe
Jobe 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
#4,151
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,536
+559 bearers (+7.0%)
Per 100,000 2.89
Rank movement Down 36 places
2020
#4,122
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,360
-176 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 2.80
Rank movement Up 29 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,115 | 7,977 | 2.96 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,151 | 8,536 | 2.89 | +559 bearers (+7.0%) | Down 36 places |
| 2020 | #4,122 | 8,360 | 2.80 | -176 bearers (-2.1%) | Up 29 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 Jobe 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 | #4,151 | #4,122 | 0.7% |
| Count | 8,536 | 8,360 | -2.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.89 | 2.80 | -3.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jobe bearers went from 8,536 to 8,360 (-2.1% change). The surname moved up 29 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,151 to #4,122.
FAQ
Jobe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jobe?
Name Census estimates that about 9,587 living Americans carry the surname Jobe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 35,752 residents.
How common is Jobe?
Jobe ranks #4,122 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.80 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,360 people with the surname Jobe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,587), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.80 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Jobe.
Has Jobe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jobe went from 8,536 recorded bearers to 8,360. That is a decrease of 176 (-2.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,151 to #4,122.
What does the Census say about the background of Jobe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jobe, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.7%. The next largest groups are Black (14.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Jobe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.7% (6,414 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jobe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.7%), Black (14.7%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Jobe (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 Jobe mean?
A variant of the biblical name Job, likely referring to a person who exhibited great patience and endurance. 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 Jobe (2.80 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 Jobe?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.