2000
#3,430
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,551
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.54
Uncommon Last name
Cable
An occupational surname referring to a person who made or laid cables, ropes, or cords.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,463 Americans carry the last name Cable. That puts it at #3,799 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 32,759 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cable 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 Cable with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
10K
1 in 32,759
Census rank
#3,799
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.1K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,124 bearers of the surname Cable in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3799th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cable, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cable
The surname Cable has its origins in the Middle English word 'cabil', which means a rope or cord. It is derived from the Old French 'cable' or the Late Latin 'capulum', meaning the same. The name likely originated as an occupational surname for a rope or cable maker.
The earliest recorded instances of the Cable surname date back to the late 12th century in England. One of the earliest known bearers was John Cable, who was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1195. The name also appears in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, where a William Cable is mentioned in Oxfordshire.
During the Middle Ages, the Cable surname was found primarily in the southern and western counties of England, including Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, and Devon. This distribution suggests that the name may have originated in these regions, where the rope and cable-making trade was prevalent.
In the 16th century, the Cable surname appeared in various spellings, such as Cabyll, Cabill, and Cabell. The variant spelling Cabell was particularly common in the Isle of Wight and Hampshire. One notable bearer of this spelling was William Cabell (1605-1658), an English landowner and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Boston, Lincolnshire.
Another notable figure with the Cable surname was Sir John Cable (c. 1617-1683), an English merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1681-1682. He was a prominent figure in the City of London during the latter part of the 17th century.
In the 18th century, the Cable surname spread across England and into other parts of the British Isles. George Cable (1744-1822) was an English clergyman and botanist who served as the Vicar of Allerton in Liverpool and made significant contributions to the study of British flora.
As the British Empire expanded, the Cable surname travelled to various parts of the world. One notable bearer was Benjamin Cable (1816-1886), an American politician and lawyer who served as the 14th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio from 1855 to 1857.
Other notable individuals with the Cable surname include George Washington Cable (1844-1925), an American novelist and essayist known for his works portraying the Creole culture of New Orleans, and Verne Cable (1889-1962), an American baseball player who played for the Boston Red Sox in the early 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cable
Among Census respondents with the surname Cable, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Cable 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 Cable surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.3% · 8,057
- Two or more races4.1% · 371
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 307
- Black or African American2.5% · 228
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 93
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 68
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cable
Cable 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
#3,716
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,545
-6 bearers (-0.1%)
Per 100,000 3.24
Rank movement Down 286 places
2020
#3,799
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,124
-421 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 3.05
Rank movement Down 83 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,430 | 9,551 | 3.54 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,716 | 9,545 | 3.24 | -6 bearers (-0.1%) | Down 286 places |
| 2020 | #3,799 | 9,124 | 3.05 | -421 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 83 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 Cable 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 | #3,716 | #3,799 | -2.2% |
| Count | 9,545 | 9,124 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 3.24 | 3.05 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cable bearers went from 9,545 to 9,124 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 83 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,716 to #3,799.
FAQ
Cable surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cable?
Name Census estimates that about 10,463 living Americans carry the surname Cable. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 32,759 residents.
How common is Cable?
Cable ranks #3,799 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.05 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,124 people with the surname Cable. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,463), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.05 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Cable.
Has Cable become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cable went from 9,545 recorded bearers to 9,124. That is a decrease of 421 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,716 to #3,799.
What does the Census say about the background of Cable?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cable, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Cable in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.3% (8,057 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cable appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.3%), Two or More Races (4.1%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Cable (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 Cable mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who made or laid cables, ropes, or cords. 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 Cable (3.05 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 common is the surname Cable?
Find out how many people are called Cable on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.