2000
#13,967
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,983
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.74
Rare Last name
Lubbers
A Dutch occupational surname referring to a person who hunts or traps lubber birds or clumsy, lazy people.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,392 Americans carry the last name Lubbers. That puts it at #13,871 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 143,292 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lubbers 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
2.4K
1 in 143,292
Census rank
#13,871
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,086 bearers of the surname Lubbers in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13871st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lubbers, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lubbers
The surname Lubbers originates from the Low Countries, which includes present-day Netherlands, Belgium, and parts of northern France. It emerged in the 14th century and is derived from the Middle Dutch word "lubben" or "lubber," meaning a clumsy or lazy person.
This surname was likely first used as a nickname for someone perceived as clumsy or lazy. It was not uncommon in medieval times for surnames to develop from personal characteristics or occupations. The earliest recorded instances of the name Lubbers can be found in Dutch municipal records and tax rolls from the late 14th and early 15th centuries.
One notable historical reference to the name Lubbers is in the 1452 account of the siege of Deventer, a city in the Dutch province of Overijssel. The account mentions a soldier named Jan Lubbers who fought bravely during the conflict.
In the 16th century, the name Lubbers began to appear in various Dutch and Flemish records, often in variations like Lubber, Lubbersen, and Lubbertsen. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Dirck Lubbers, who was born in Antwerp, Belgium, around 1520.
Another notable figure was Pieter Lubbers, a Dutch painter and engraver born in Delft in 1581. He is known for his landscape paintings and etchings of Dutch cities.
In the 17th century, the name Lubbers spread to other parts of Europe as Dutch and Flemish people migrated. One prominent individual from this period was Johannes Lubbers, a German theologian and author born in Emden, Germany, in 1624.
In the 18th century, the name Lubbers was found in various Dutch and German records, including the birth of Nicolaas Lubbers in Amsterdam in 1712. He later became a successful merchant and landowner.
The 19th century saw the name Lubbers spread further due to immigration. One notable figure was Adriaan Lubbers, a Dutch-American businessman born in Rotterdam in 1825. He emigrated to the United States and became a successful industrialist in New York City.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lubbers
Among Census respondents with the surname Lubbers, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Lubbers 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 Lubbers surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.0% · 1,960
- Two or more races2.6% · 54
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 48
- Black or African American0.4% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lubbers
Lubbers 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
#14,257
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,102
+119 bearers (+6.0%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 290 places
2020
#13,871
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,086
-16 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Up 386 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,967 | 1,983 | 0.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,257 | 2,102 | 0.71 | +119 bearers (+6.0%) | Down 290 places |
| 2020 | #13,871 | 2,086 | 0.70 | -16 bearers (-0.8%) | Up 386 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 Lubbers 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 | #14,257 | #13,871 | 2.7% |
| Count | 2,102 | 2,086 | -0.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.71 | 0.70 | -1.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lubbers bearers went from 2,102 to 2,086 (-0.8% change). The surname moved up 386 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,257 to #13,871.
FAQ
Lubbers surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lubbers?
Name Census estimates that about 2,392 living Americans carry the surname Lubbers. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 143,292 residents.
How common is Lubbers?
Lubbers ranks #13,871 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,086 people with the surname Lubbers. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,392), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.70 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Lubbers.
Has Lubbers become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lubbers went from 2,102 recorded bearers to 2,086. That is a decrease of 16 (-0.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,257 to #13,871.
What does the Census say about the background of Lubbers?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lubbers, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Lubbers in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.0% (1,960 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lubbers appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.0%), Two or More Races (2.6%), Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Lubbers (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 Lubbers mean?
A Dutch occupational surname referring to a person who hunts or traps lubber birds or clumsy, lazy people. 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 Lubbers (0.70 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 common is the surname Lubbers?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Lubbers at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.