2000
#570
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 53,180
First available Census row
Per 100,000 19.71
Uncommon Last name
Combs
An English occupational surname for a maker or seller of combs, or a topographical name for someone living near a valley.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 59,416 Americans carry the last name Combs. That puts it at #638 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 17.33 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,769 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Combs 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 Combs with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
59K
1 in 5,769
Census rank
#638
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
17.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
52K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 51,814 bearers of the surname Combs in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 17.33 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 638th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Combs, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Combs
The surname Combs originated in England, derived from the Old English word "cumb," meaning a small valley or hollow between hills. It was likely an occupational name given to someone who lived in such a geographical feature. The name was first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "de Combe," with various spellings emerging over time, including Coombe, Combe, and Combs.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Robert de Combe, who lived in Somerset, England, in the 13th century. Around the same period, the name appeared in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire, where Walter de la Combe was mentioned as a landowner.
In the 14th century, the name was found in various records across England, such as the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire, where John Combe was listed in 1327. Another notable bearer was William Combe, a Member of Parliament for Cirencester in 1379.
During the 16th century, the Combs surname spread across England, with several prominent individuals bearing the name. One of them was John Combe (1506-1550), a wealthy landowner and close friend of William Shakespeare. It is believed that Shakespeare may have based the character of Sir John Falstaff on Combe.
In the 17th century, Edward Combe (1613-1689) was a notable English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Ludgershall and as a judge on the Western Circuit. Another notable figure was the English poet and author, William Combe (1741-1823), best known for his satirical work "The Diaboliad."
The 18th century saw the rise of Thomas Combe (1745-1823), a renowned English philosopher and writer who co-founded the Analytical Review and advocated for educational reforms. Another prominent individual was George Combe (1788-1858), a Scottish phrenologist and one of the founders of the Edinburgh Phrenological Society.
Throughout history, the Combs surname has been associated with various notable personalities across different fields, reflecting its long-standing presence and diverse origins within England and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Combs
Among Census respondents with the surname Combs, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Combs 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 Combs surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.9% · 42,933
- Black or African American9.0% · 4,647
- Two or more races4.4% · 2,265
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 1,411
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 300
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 258
Timeline
Historical Census data for Combs
Combs 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
#624
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 54,257
+1,077 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 18.39
Rank movement Down 54 places
2020
#638
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 51,814
-2,443 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 17.33
Rank movement Down 14 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #570 | 53,180 | 19.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #624 | 54,257 | 18.39 | +1,077 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 54 places |
| 2020 | #638 | 51,814 | 17.33 | -2,443 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 14 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 Combs 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 | #624 | #638 | -2.2% |
| Count | 54,257 | 51,814 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 18.39 | 17.33 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Combs bearers went from 54,257 to 51,814 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 14 positions in the national ranking, going from #624 to #638.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Combs
FAQ
Combs surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Combs?
Name Census estimates that about 59,416 living Americans carry the surname Combs. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,769 residents.
How common is Combs?
Combs ranks #638 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 17.33 per 100,000 residents, which is about 17 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 51,814 people with the surname Combs. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (59,416), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 17.33 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 17.33 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 17 of them to have the surname Combs.
Has Combs become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Combs went from 54,257 recorded bearers to 51,814. That is a decrease of 2,443 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #624 to #638.
What does the Census say about the background of Combs?
Among Census respondents with the surname Combs, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) 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 Combs in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.9% (42,933 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Combs appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.9%), Black (9.0%), 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 Combs (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 Combs mean?
An English occupational surname for a maker or seller of combs, or a topographical name for someone living near a valley. 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 Combs (17.33 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 Combs?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.