2000
#511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 58,555
First available Census row
Per 100,000 21.71
Uncommon Last name
Lamb
An English occupational surname for a keeper or tender of lambs or a nickname for a meek, gentle person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 66,020 Americans carry the last name Lamb. That puts it at #572 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 19.26 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,192 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lamb 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 Lamb with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
66K
1 in 5,192
Census rank
#572
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
19.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
58K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 57,573 bearers of the surname Lamb in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 19.26 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 572nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lamb, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.8%. The next largest groups are Black (8.6%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lamb
The surname Lamb has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is a name derived from the Old English word "lamb," referring to the young sheep. The surname likely originated as a descriptive nickname or occupational name for someone who worked with lambs or sheep.
In England, the name Lamb can be traced back to the 13th century. One of the earliest recorded instances is found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which lists a Walter Lamb from Oxfordshire. Another early record is from the Calendarium Genealogicum, which mentions a John Lamb in 1314.
The Lamb surname is also found in various historical documents from the 14th and 15th centuries. For instance, the Poll Tax returns of 1379 list a Thomas Lamb from Yorkshire, while the Patent Rolls of 1430 mention a William Lamb from Norfolk.
The name has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One prominent figure was John Lamb (c. 1490-1538), a Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake for his religious beliefs during the reign of King Henry VIII.
Another significant bearer of the name was Andrew Lamb (1561-1637), a Scottish merchant and naval administrator who served as the Clerk of the King's Ships during the reign of King James VI and I.
In the 18th century, Sir James Lamb (1734-1798) was a prominent British naval officer who served in the American Revolutionary War and later became an admiral in the Royal Navy.
The name Lamb has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Lambeth in London, which is derived from the Old English "Lamb-hythe," meaning "landing place for lambs."
Other notable individuals with the surname Lamb include:
1. Charles Lamb (1775-1834), an English essayist and writer best known for his "Essays of Elia."
2. Mary Lamb (1764-1847), the sister of Charles Lamb and a writer in her own right.
3. William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (1779-1848), a British statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1834 to 1841.
4. Caroline Lamb (1785-1828), a British novelist and aristocrat known for her scandalous affair with Lord Byron.
5. Hubert Lamb (1913-1997), an English climatologist and founding member of the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lamb
Among Census respondents with the surname Lamb, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.8%. The next largest groups are Black (8.6%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Lamb 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 Lamb surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.8% · 47,681
- Black or African American8.6% · 4,935
- Two or more races3.8% · 2,212
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 1,933
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 490
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 322
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lamb
Lamb 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
#561
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 59,913
+1,358 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 20.31
Rank movement Down 50 places
2020
#572
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 57,573
-2,340 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 19.26
Rank movement Down 11 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #511 | 58,555 | 21.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #561 | 59,913 | 20.31 | +1,358 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 50 places |
| 2020 | #572 | 57,573 | 19.26 | -2,340 bearers (-3.9%) | Down 11 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 Lamb 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 | #561 | #572 | -2.0% |
| Count | 59,913 | 57,573 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 20.31 | 19.26 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lamb bearers went from 59,913 to 57,573 (-3.9% change). The surname moved down 11 positions in the national ranking, going from #561 to #572.
FAQ
Lamb surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lamb?
Name Census estimates that about 66,020 living Americans carry the surname Lamb. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,192 residents.
How common is Lamb?
Lamb ranks #572 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 19.26 per 100,000 residents, which is about 19 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 57,573 people with the surname Lamb. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (66,020), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 19.26 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 19.26 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 19 of them to have the surname Lamb.
Has Lamb become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lamb went from 59,913 recorded bearers to 57,573. That is a decrease of 2,340 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #561 to #572.
What does the Census say about the background of Lamb?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lamb, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.8%. The next largest groups are Black (8.6%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Lamb in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.8% (47,681 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lamb appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.8%), Black (8.6%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Lamb (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 Lamb mean?
An English occupational surname for a keeper or tender of lambs or a nickname for a meek, gentle person. 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 Lamb (19.26 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 Lamb?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.