2000
#137,816
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Semb
A Norwegian toponymic surname referring to someone from the parish of Semb.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Semb. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Semb 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Semb in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Semb, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Semb
The surname "SEMB" is of Norwegian origin and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is believed to have originated from the Old Norse word "semba," which meant "the one who travels slowly." This suggests that the name was likely given to someone who was leisurely or unhurried in their movements.
In the early days, the name was primarily found in the western regions of Norway, particularly in the areas around Bergen and Stavanger. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian documents dating back to the 12th century.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname "SEMB" was Torbjørn Semb, who lived in the late 13th century and was a landowner in the Rogaland region of Norway. Another notable figure was Ingebjørg Semb, a prominent merchant who lived in Bergen in the mid-14th century.
In the 16th century, the name appears in several legal documents and land records, such as the Jordebok, which was a cadastral register of landholdings in Norway. One such record mentions a Nils Semb, who owned a farm in the Hardanger region in the late 1500s.
As the centuries progressed, the spelling of the name evolved slightly, with variations such as "Sæmb" and "Sehmb" appearing in various records. However, the core meaning and pronunciation remained largely unchanged.
In the 19th century, a notable bearer of the name was Hans Semb, a Norwegian politician and lawyer who lived from 1829 to 1907. He served as a member of the Storting (Norwegian parliament) and was widely respected for his legal expertise.
Another prominent individual with the surname "SEMB" was Olaf Semb, a Norwegian naval officer and explorer who lived from 1866 to 1933. He led several expeditions to the Arctic regions and made significant contributions to the mapping and exploration of these areas.
While the name "SEMB" is not as common as some other Norwegian surnames, it has persisted through the centuries and continues to be carried by families across Norway and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Semb
Among Census respondents with the surname Semb, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Semb 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 Semb surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 118
Timeline
Historical Census data for Semb
Semb 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
#126,765
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 135
+23 bearers (+20.5%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 11,051 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-17 bearers (-12.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 16,746 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #137,816 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #126,765 | 135 | 0.05 | +23 bearers (+20.5%) | Up 11,051 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | -17 bearers (-12.6%) | Down 16,746 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 Semb 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 | #126,765 | #143,511 | -13.2% |
| Count | 135 | 118 | -12.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -21.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Semb bearers went from 135 to 118 (-12.6% change). The surname moved down 16,746 positions in the national ranking, going from #126,765 to #143,511.
FAQ
Semb surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Semb?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Semb. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Semb?
Semb ranks #143,511 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 118 people with the surname Semb. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Semb.
Has Semb become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Semb went from 135 recorded bearers to 118. That is a decrease of 17 (-12.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #126,765 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Semb?
Among Census respondents with the surname Semb, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Semb in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (118 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Semb appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Semb (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 Semb mean?
A Norwegian toponymic surname referring to someone from the parish of Semb. 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 Semb (0.04 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 Semb?
Find out how many people are called Semb on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.