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

Yarbrough, 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 Yarbrough surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Yarbrough in America

Yarbrough is the 1441st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Yarbrough surname appeared 24,749 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 8 people would have the surname Yarbrough.

We can also compare 2010 data for Yarbrough 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 Yarbrough

The surname Yarbrough has its origins in England and dates back to the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "gearr" meaning "a gore or triangular piece of land" and "burh" meaning "a fortified place or dwelling". Together, these words formed the place name "Yareborough" or "Yarbrough".

The earliest known record of the name Yarbrough appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey commissioned by William the Conqueror. It mentions a place called "Iareburche" in Lincolnshire, which is likely the origin of the surname.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Yarbrough was Robert de Yarbrough, who lived in the 13th century. He was a landowner in Lincolnshire and his name was recorded in various legal documents of the time.

In the 14th century, the name Yarbrough was also found in other parts of England, such as Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire. This suggests that the family had spread out from their original base in Lincolnshire.

During the Tudor period, a notable figure with the surname Yarbrough was Sir Thomas Yarbrough (c. 1510-1570). He was a Member of Parliament and served as a Justice of the Peace in Lincolnshire.

Another prominent individual was John Yarbrough (1636-1716), who was a Quaker minister and one of the earliest settlers in Pennsylvania. He was born in Leicestershire, England, and immigrated to America in the late 17th century.

In the 18th century, the surname Yarbrough was also found in Scotland, where it was sometimes spelled as "Yarborough". One example is James Yarborough (1730-1803), a Scottish naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War.

The name Yarbrough has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Yarbrough in Lincolnshire, Yarborough in Somerset, and Yarborough Camp in Nottinghamshire.

Throughout history, the surname Yarbrough has been spelled in various ways, including Yareborough, Yareburgh, Yarbrow, and Yarburgh, among others. This reflects the variations in pronunciation and spelling that were common in earlier times.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Yarbrough

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

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

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