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

Lambe, 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 Lambe surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lambe in America

Lambe is the 21553rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lambe surname appeared 1,211 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 Lambe.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lambe 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 Lambe

The surname Lambe originates from England in the late 12th century. It is an occupational surname derived from the Old English word "lamb", referring to someone who raised or herded lambs. The name was initially associated with individuals residing in areas known for their sheep farming communities.

One of the earliest documented references to the surname Lambe can be found in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1201, which mentions a Thomas Lambe from Oxfordshire. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also record a Simon le Lamb from Cambridgeshire, using the earlier spelling common during that era.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, while the surname itself is not mentioned, there are several entries for place names that may have influenced the development of the Lambe surname. For instance, Lambourne in Berkshire and Lambcross in Somerset, both containing the word "lamb", could have been associated with early bearers of the name.

Notable individuals with the surname Lambe include John Lambe (c. 1450-1537), a prominent English clergyman who served as the Bishop of Ely from 1497 until his death. Another early figure was Sir Nicholas Lambe (c. 1492-1568), a Member of Parliament and landowner in Buckinghamshire.

In the literary world, Charles Lamb (1775-1834) was a renowned English essayist and poet, best known for his Essays of Elia. His sister, Mary Lamb (1764-1847), was a writer and collaborator on several of his works.

Moving into the 20th century, Sir Horace Lambe (1880-1954) was a British civil servant and diplomat who served as the Ambassador to Spain from 1934 to 1939. Lastly, Lionel Lambe (1923-2001) was a Australian cricketer who played Test cricket for Australia in the 1950s.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lambe

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

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

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

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