2000
#2,331
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,230
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.28
Uncommon Last name
Newcomb
A surname for a newcomer or recent arrival to a town or village.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,751 Americans carry the last name Newcomb. That puts it at #2,569 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 21,761 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Newcomb 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Newcomb with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
16K
1 in 21,761
Census rank
#2,569
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,736 bearers of the surname Newcomb in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2569th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Newcomb, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Newcomb
The surname Newcomb has its origins in England, where it first appeared in the 11th century. It is a locational name, derived from various place names such as Newcomb in Devonshire or Newcome in Lincolnshire. The name is believed to have originated from the Old English words "niwe" meaning new and "cumb" meaning a valley, referring to someone who lived in a newly-settled valley or hamlet.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Nivecombe" in Somerset. In the 13th century, the name appeared in various forms such as "Neucome," "Neucumen," and "Newecombe" in various records and charters from across England.
The earliest recorded person with the surname Newcomb was William de Newecumbe, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Devonshire in 1195. Another notable early bearer of the name was Roger de Newcombe, who was listed in the Hundred Rolls of Buckinghamshire in 1273.
Throughout history, several individuals with the surname Newcomb have achieved prominence. One such person was Thomas Newcomb (1627-1681), an English nonconformist clergyman and writer who was ejected from his living during the Great Ejection of 1662. Another notable figure was Simon Newcomb (1835-1909), a Canadian-American astronomer and mathematician who made important contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and the motions of the planets.
Other notable bearers of the surname include Avery Newcomb (1792-1851), an American politician who served as a U.S. Senator from New York, and Harry Newcomb (1893-1982), an American film editor who won an Academy Award for Best Film Editing for the 1949 film "Champion."
In the 16th and 17th centuries, several variations of the name emerged, such as Newcombe, Newcomen, and Newcombe, reflecting the different regional pronunciations and spellings of the name across England.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Newcomb
Among Census respondents with the surname Newcomb, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Newcomb 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 Newcomb surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.3% · 12,267
- Two or more races4.2% · 572
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 427
- Black or African American2.0% · 278
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 119
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 73
Timeline
Historical Census data for Newcomb
Newcomb 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
#2,534
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,292
+62 bearers (+0.4%)
Per 100,000 4.85
Rank movement Down 203 places
2020
#2,569
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,736
-556 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 4.60
Rank movement Down 35 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,331 | 14,230 | 5.28 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,534 | 14,292 | 4.85 | +62 bearers (+0.4%) | Down 203 places |
| 2020 | #2,569 | 13,736 | 4.60 | -556 bearers (-3.9%) | Down 35 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 Newcomb 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 | #2,534 | #2,569 | -1.4% |
| Count | 14,292 | 13,736 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 4.85 | 4.60 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Newcomb bearers went from 14,292 to 13,736 (-3.9% change). The surname moved down 35 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,534 to #2,569.
FAQ
Newcomb surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Newcomb?
Name Census estimates that about 15,751 living Americans carry the surname Newcomb. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 21,761 residents.
How common is Newcomb?
Newcomb ranks #2,569 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.60 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,736 people with the surname Newcomb. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,751), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.60 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Newcomb.
Has Newcomb become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Newcomb went from 14,292 recorded bearers to 13,736. That is a decrease of 556 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,534 to #2,569.
What does the Census say about the background of Newcomb?
Among Census respondents with the surname Newcomb, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Newcomb in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.3% (12,267 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Newcomb appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.3%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Newcomb (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 Newcomb mean?
A surname for a newcomer or recent arrival to a town or village. 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 Newcomb (4.60 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 have the last name Newcomb?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Newcomb is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.