2000
#305
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 90,325
First available Census row
Per 100,000 33.48
Common Last name
Chambers
An English occupational surname referring to someone who worked in the private chambers of a nobleman or royal.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 105,264 Americans carry the last name Chambers. That puts it at #334 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 30.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,256 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Chambers 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 Chambers with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
105K
1 in 3,256
Census rank
#334
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
30.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
92K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 91,795 bearers of the surname Chambers in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 30.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 334th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Chambers, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.6%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Chambers
The surname Chambers is derived from an Old French word "chambre," which means a room or chamber. It originated in England during the Middle Ages, with the earliest known records dating back to the late 12th century. The name was likely given to someone who worked or lived in a chamber or small room, perhaps as a servant or attendant in a noble household.
One of the earliest mentions of the name Chambers is found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire, dated 1166, which refer to a person named William de la Chambre. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also list a Robert de la Chaumbre in Oxfordshire. These early spellings reflect the French origins of the name and its evolution into the English language.
The Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of English landowners commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain the surname Chambers. However, it does list several places with names derived from the Old English word "ciemer," meaning a chamber or room, such as Ciemere in Gloucestershire and Ciemereswrthe in Wiltshire. These place names may have contributed to the development of the surname Chambers in later centuries.
In the 14th century, the surname began to appear more frequently in various records and manuscripts. One notable example is Sir Robert Chambers, a knight who fought alongside King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War. He was born around 1320 and participated in the Battle of Crécy in 1346.
Another significant figure was Ephraim Chambers (1680-1740), an English writer and encyclopedist best known for publishing the "Cyclopaedia, or a Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences" in 1728. This work was one of the first comprehensive encyclopedias in the English language and a precursor to the Encyclopædia Britannica.
In the 18th century, Sir William Chambers (1723-1796) was a renowned Scottish architect who designed many notable buildings in London, including Somerset House and the Pagoda at Kew Gardens. He was highly influential in introducing the Neoclassical style to British architecture.
The 19th century saw the rise of the Chambers publishing family in Edinburgh, Scotland. Robert Chambers (1802-1871) and his brother William Chambers (1800-1883) founded the publishing firm W. & R. Chambers, which produced educational books, encyclopedias, and literary works.
Another notable figure was Sir Neville Chambers (1859-1945), a British naval officer who served as the Director of Naval Construction and later as the Deputy Controller of the Royal Navy during World War I. He played a crucial role in the development of British warships and naval strategy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chambers
Among Census respondents with the surname Chambers, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.6%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Chambers 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 Chambers surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.6% · 57,505
- Black or African American28.0% · 25,697
- Two or more races4.7% · 4,327
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 3,221
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 549
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 496
Timeline
Historical Census data for Chambers
Chambers 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
#326
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 94,988
+4,663 bearers (+5.2%)
Per 100,000 32.20
Rank movement Down 21 places
2020
#334
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 91,795
-3,193 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 30.71
Rank movement Down 8 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #305 | 90,325 | 33.48 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #326 | 94,988 | 32.20 | +4,663 bearers (+5.2%) | Down 21 places |
| 2020 | #334 | 91,795 | 30.71 | -3,193 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 8 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 Chambers 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 | #326 | #334 | -2.5% |
| Count | 94,988 | 91,795 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 32.20 | 30.71 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Chambers bearers went from 94,988 to 91,795 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 8 positions in the national ranking, going from #326 to #334.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Chambers
FAQ
Chambers surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Chambers?
Name Census estimates that about 105,264 living Americans carry the surname Chambers. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,256 residents.
How common is Chambers?
Chambers ranks #334 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 30.71 per 100,000 residents, which is about 31 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 91,795 people with the surname Chambers. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (105,264), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 30.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 30.71 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 31 of them to have the surname Chambers.
Has Chambers become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Chambers went from 94,988 recorded bearers to 91,795. That is a decrease of 3,193 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #326 to #334.
What does the Census say about the background of Chambers?
Among Census respondents with the surname Chambers, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.6%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Chambers in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.6% (57,505 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Chambers appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (62.6%), Black (28.0%), Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Chambers (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 Chambers mean?
An English occupational surname referring to someone who worked in the private chambers of a nobleman or royal. 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 Chambers (30.71 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 Chambers?
If you just want to know how many people are called Chambers, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.