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

Macomber, 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 Macomber surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Macomber in America

Macomber is the 8201st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Macomber surname appeared 4,047 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 Macomber.

We can also compare 2010 data for Macomber 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 Macomber

The surname MACOMBER has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to be a locational name derived from a place name in Cornwall or Devon, possibly a corruption of the Cornish word "macommogh," meaning "son of the monk."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the MACOMBER name appears in the Pipe Rolls of Devonshire in 1242, where one Richard de Macomber is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already established in the region by the 13th century.

In the 14th century, the name was also found in the records of the Hundred Rolls, which were administrative records compiled during the reign of King Edward I. The spelling variations included "Macomber," "Macombre," and "Makamber."

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the MACOMBER family seemed to have spread to other parts of England, with records showing individuals bearing the name in counties like Somerset and Dorset.

One notable MACOMBER was Thomas Macomber, who was born in 1614 in Dorset. He later emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1638, becoming one of the early settlers of the town of Marshfield.

Another significant figure was John Macomber, born in 1620 in Somerset, England. He came to New England in 1640 and settled in Taunton, Massachusetts, where he became a prominent landowner and served as a selectman.

In the 18th century, the MACOMBER name continued to be found in various parts of New England, with individuals such as William Macomber (1704-1785) of Middleborough, Massachusetts, who served as a soldier in the French and Indian War.

One of the most illustrious MACOMBERS was John Macomber II (1768-1841), a wealthy merchant and ship owner from Boston. He was involved in the China trade and amassed a substantial fortune.

Another notable MACOMBER was William Macomber (1799-1888), a successful businessman and philanthropist from Rochester, New York. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Western Union Telegraph Company and donated generously to educational institutions.

While the MACOMBER name has its roots in England, it has since become widely dispersed across various parts of the world, particularly in North America, where many descendants of the early immigrants settled and established themselves.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Macomber

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Macomber, 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!