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

Kemble, 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 Kemble surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kemble in America

Kemble is the 15692nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kemble surname appeared 1,859 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 Kemble.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kemble 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 Kemble

The surname Kemble has its roots in England and is believed to have originated from the Old English word "kembol," which means "the ridge between two furrows." It is thought to have derived from a place name referring to a settlement on a ridge or hill.

Kemble is a locational surname, which means it was originally taken from the name of a place where the first bearers of the name resided. The earliest recorded mention of the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Kembol" in reference to a settlement in Wiltshire.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Kemble, who lived in the 13th century and was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1221. Another early record is from the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire, which mentions a William Kemble in 1273.

The Kemble family had a notable presence in the village of Presteigne, located on the border of Radnorshire and Herefordshire. This area was known as "Kemble's Country" due to the prevalence of the surname in the region during the 16th and 17th centuries.

One of the most famous individuals with the Kemble surname was John Philip Kemble, an acclaimed English actor and theatre manager who lived from 1757 to 1823. He was part of the illustrious Kemble family, which included his sister, Sarah Kemble Siddons, who was widely regarded as one of the greatest tragic actresses of the 18th century.

Another notable figure was Fanny Kemble, an English actress and author born in 1809. She was the daughter of Charles Kemble, a prominent actor and the youngest son of Roger Kemble, who was the patriarch of the renowned theatrical family.

Roger Kemble himself was an important figure, being a successful actor and theatre manager in the 18th century. He was born in 1721 and passed away in 1802, leaving behind a legacy that his children and grandchildren would carry forward in the world of theatre.

In addition to the theatrical Kemble family, there was also Sir Robert Kemble, a British diplomat and statesman who lived from 1671 to 1718. He served as the Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire and was knighted for his services to the Crown.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kemble

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!