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

Neighbors, 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 Neighbors surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Neighbors in America

Neighbors is the 6969th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Neighbors surname appeared 4,814 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Neighbors.

We can also compare 2010 data for Neighbors 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 Neighbors

The surname Neighbors originates from England, dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word "neahgebur," which means "near-dweller" or "neighbor." This name was initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone who lived near a particular location or landmark.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, one of the earliest comprehensive records of landowners in England, there are several entries that may have been early forms of the Neighbors surname, such as "Nehe-gebur" and "Nehgebur."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Neighbors surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, where a person named William le Neybour was listed. Another early example is Robert le Neyghebur, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327.

The Neighbors surname has been associated with various place names throughout history. For instance, in the 14th century, there were records of individuals named "de Neybour" or "de Neyghbur" from places like Navestock in Essex and Naylesbourne in Kent.

Among notable individuals with the Neighbors surname, one can mention:

1. Robert Neighbors (1594-1670), an English Puritan minister and author who emigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony.
2. George Neighbors (1785-1868), an American frontiersman and soldier who fought in the War of 1812 and the Black Hawk War.
3. Mary Granville Neighbors (1875-1971), an American educator and civil rights activist who founded the Neighbors Union Settlement in Memphis, Tennessee.
4. Dempsey Neighbors (1891-1960), an American baseball player who played for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Braves in the 1920s.
5. Milton Neighbors (1918-2005), an American jazz drummer and bandleader who played with Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie.

The Neighbors surname has undergone various spelling variations throughout history, including Neighbour, Neybor, Naybor, and Naybour, reflecting regional dialects and changes in pronunciation over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Neighbors

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

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

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

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