2000
#6,537
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,783
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.77
Rare Last name
Neighbors
An English surname referring to a person who lived near others, from the Middle English word "neighebour."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,354 Americans carry the last name Neighbors. That puts it at #6,932 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.56 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 64,018 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Neighbors 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
5.4K
1 in 64,018
Census rank
#6,932
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,669 bearers of the surname Neighbors in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.56 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6932nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Neighbors, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Black (6.3%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Neighbors
Among Census respondents with the surname Neighbors, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Black (6.3%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Neighbors 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 Neighbors surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.9% · 3,966
- Black or African American6.3% · 292
- Two or more races5.0% · 232
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 111
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 24
Timeline
Historical Census data for Neighbors
Neighbors 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
#6,969
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,814
+31 bearers (+0.6%)
Per 100,000 1.63
Rank movement Down 432 places
2020
#6,932
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,669
-145 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 1.56
Rank movement Up 37 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,537 | 4,783 | 1.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,969 | 4,814 | 1.63 | +31 bearers (+0.6%) | Down 432 places |
| 2020 | #6,932 | 4,669 | 1.56 | -145 bearers (-3.0%) | Up 37 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 Neighbors 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 | #6,969 | #6,932 | 0.5% |
| Count | 4,814 | 4,669 | -3.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.63 | 1.56 | -4.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Neighbors bearers went from 4,814 to 4,669 (-3.0% change). The surname moved up 37 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,969 to #6,932.
FAQ
Neighbors surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Neighbors?
Name Census estimates that about 5,354 living Americans carry the surname Neighbors. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 64,018 residents.
How common is Neighbors?
Neighbors ranks #6,932 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.56 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,669 people with the surname Neighbors. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,354), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.56 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.56 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Neighbors.
Has Neighbors become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Neighbors went from 4,814 recorded bearers to 4,669. That is a decrease of 145 (-3.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #6,969 to #6,932.
What does the Census say about the background of Neighbors?
Among Census respondents with the surname Neighbors, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Black (6.3%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Neighbors in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.9% (3,966 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Neighbors appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.9%), Black (6.3%), Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Neighbors (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 Neighbors mean?
An English surname referring to a person who lived near others, from the Middle English word "neighebour." 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 Neighbors (1.56 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 many people are called Neighbors?
Want to know how many people have the surname Neighbors? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.