2000
#472
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 63,739
First available Census row
Per 100,000 23.63
Uncommon Last name
Cobb
An English occupational surname for someone who caught fish or made nets and baskets for carrying fish.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 71,332 Americans carry the last name Cobb. That puts it at #529 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 20.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 4,805 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cobb 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 Cobb with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
71K
1 in 4,805
Census rank
#529
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
20.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
62K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 62,205 bearers of the surname Cobb in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 20.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 529th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cobb, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.4%. The next largest groups are Black (24.3%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cobb
The surname COBB is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "cob" meaning a rounded hill or headland. It first appeared in the 11th century and was initially used as a topographic name for someone who lived on or near a rounded hill or coastal headland.
The earliest known bearer of the name was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a person named Robert Cob was listed as a landowner in Somerset. This suggests that the name was already established in the southwest of England by the late 11th century.
In the 13th century, the surname was also found in various place names, such as Cobbescroft (now known as Cobcroft) in Sussex, and Cobbesheye (now Cobshey) in Kent. These place names likely derived from the surname itself, indicating the presence of families bearing the name in those areas.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname COBB was Sir John Cobb, who lived in the late 14th century and was a member of the gentry in Somerset. Another notable bearer was Sir William Cobb, who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1593.
In the 17th century, the name appeared in various court records and parish registers, including those of Jeremiah Cobb (1626-1703), who was a prominent merchant and landowner in Virginia, and Samuel Cobb (1668-1713), who served as the Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
Other notable individuals with the surname COBB include:
1. Howell Cobb (1815-1868), an American political figure who served as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Treasury under President James Buchanan.
2. Ty Cobb (1886-1961), one of the greatest baseball players of all time, who played for the Detroit Tigers and held several batting records.
3. Lee J. Cobb (1911-1976), an American actor known for his roles in films such as "On the Waterfront" and "The Exorcist".
4. Carolyn Cobb (born 1944), an American mathematician and computer scientist, known for her work in computational geometry and computer graphics.
5. Rachel Cobb (born 1972), a British writer and journalist, best known for her book "Trapped: Modern-Day Slavery in the Brazilian Amazon".
While the surname COBB has its roots in England and initially referred to geographical features, it has since spread worldwide and been borne by many notable individuals across various fields.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cobb
Among Census respondents with the surname Cobb, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.4%. The next largest groups are Black (24.3%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Cobb 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 Cobb surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.4% · 41,931
- Black or African American24.3% · 15,144
- Two or more races4.4% · 2,730
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 1,689
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 356
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 355
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cobb
Cobb 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
#514
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 65,125
+1,386 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 22.08
Rank movement Down 42 places
2020
#529
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 62,205
-2,920 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 20.81
Rank movement Down 15 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #472 | 63,739 | 23.63 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #514 | 65,125 | 22.08 | +1,386 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 42 places |
| 2020 | #529 | 62,205 | 20.81 | -2,920 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 15 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 Cobb 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 | #514 | #529 | -2.9% |
| Count | 65,125 | 62,205 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 22.08 | 20.81 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cobb bearers went from 65,125 to 62,205 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 15 positions in the national ranking, going from #514 to #529.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Cobb
FAQ
Cobb surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cobb?
Name Census estimates that about 71,332 living Americans carry the surname Cobb. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 4,805 residents.
How common is Cobb?
Cobb ranks #529 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 20.81 per 100,000 residents, which is about 21 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 62,205 people with the surname Cobb. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (71,332), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 20.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 20.81 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 21 of them to have the surname Cobb.
Has Cobb become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cobb went from 65,125 recorded bearers to 62,205. That is a decrease of 2,920 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #514 to #529.
What does the Census say about the background of Cobb?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cobb, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.4%. The next largest groups are Black (24.3%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Cobb in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.4% (41,931 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cobb appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (67.4%), Black (24.3%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Cobb (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 Cobb mean?
An English occupational surname for someone who caught fish or made nets and baskets for carrying fish. 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 Cobb (20.81 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 Americans have the surname Cobb?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.