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

Lamb, 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 Lamb surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lamb in America

Lamb is the 561st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lamb surname appeared 59,913 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 20 people would have the surname Lamb.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lamb 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 Lamb

The surname Lamb has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is a name derived from the Old English word "lamb," referring to the young sheep. The surname likely originated as a descriptive nickname or occupational name for someone who worked with lambs or sheep.

In England, the name Lamb can be traced back to the 13th century. One of the earliest recorded instances is found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which lists a Walter Lamb from Oxfordshire. Another early record is from the Calendarium Genealogicum, which mentions a John Lamb in 1314.

The Lamb surname is also found in various historical documents from the 14th and 15th centuries. For instance, the Poll Tax returns of 1379 list a Thomas Lamb from Yorkshire, while the Patent Rolls of 1430 mention a William Lamb from Norfolk.

The name has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One prominent figure was John Lamb (c. 1490-1538), a Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake for his religious beliefs during the reign of King Henry VIII.

Another significant bearer of the name was Andrew Lamb (1561-1637), a Scottish merchant and naval administrator who served as the Clerk of the King's Ships during the reign of King James VI and I.

In the 18th century, Sir James Lamb (1734-1798) was a prominent British naval officer who served in the American Revolutionary War and later became an admiral in the Royal Navy.

The name Lamb has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Lambeth in London, which is derived from the Old English "Lamb-hythe," meaning "landing place for lambs."

Other notable individuals with the surname Lamb include:

1. Charles Lamb (1775-1834), an English essayist and writer best known for his "Essays of Elia."
2. Mary Lamb (1764-1847), the sister of Charles Lamb and a writer in her own right.
3. William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (1779-1848), a British statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1834 to 1841.
4. Caroline Lamb (1785-1828), a British novelist and aristocrat known for her scandalous affair with Lord Byron.
5. Hubert Lamb (1913-1997), an English climatologist and founding member of the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lamb

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

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

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

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