2000
#40,987
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 502
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.19
Very Rare Last name
Norbury
From the northern borough, referring to someone living north of a town or borough.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 565 Americans carry the last name Norbury. That puts it at #46,548 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 606,645 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Norbury 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 Norbury with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
565
1 in 606,645
Census rank
#46,548
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
493
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 493 bearers of the surname Norbury in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 46548th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Norbury, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.5%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Norbury
The surname Norbury has its origins in England, dating back to the 11th century. It is a locational surname derived from the place name "Norbury," which refers to several villages and parishes in the counties of Cheshire, Derbyshire, Shropshire, and Staffordshire.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The entry mentions a landowner named Ranulf de Nordberie, indicating the presence of the name in Cheshire at that time.
The name Norbury is believed to be derived from the Old English words "nord" meaning "north" and "burh" meaning "fortified place" or "borough." This suggests that the original Norbury settlements were located in the northern regions of their respective counties.
In the 13th century, records show a Robert de Norburi holding lands in Staffordshire, indicating the spread of the surname beyond its initial areas of origin. Additionally, the variant spelling "Norbury" appears in the Derbyshire Pipe Rolls of 1272.
Notable individuals with the surname Norbury include Sir John Norbury (c. 1657-1737), an English judge and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, and Sir Henry Norbury (1682-1763), a British naval officer who served as Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet.
In the 19th century, John Norbury (1787-1857) was a celebrated English architect responsible for designing several notable buildings in Cheshire, including the Grosvenor Bridge in Chester.
Another prominent figure was Sir Walter Norbury (1857-1938), a British civil servant who served as the Chief Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service in London from 1918 to 1923.
Francis Norbury (1888-1966) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Hampshire County Cricket Club in the early 20th century.
These examples illustrate the widespread presence of the Norbury surname across various professions and regions throughout history, reflecting its English heritage and locational origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Norbury
Among Census respondents with the surname Norbury, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.5%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Norbury 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 Norbury surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.0% · 434
- Two or more races5.5% · 27
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 7
- Black or African American1.0% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Norbury
Norbury 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
#42,163
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 515
+13 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.17
Rank movement Down 1,176 places
2020
#46,548
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 493
-22 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Down 4,385 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #40,987 | 502 | 0.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #42,163 | 515 | 0.17 | +13 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 1,176 places |
| 2020 | #46,548 | 493 | 0.16 | -22 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 4,385 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 Norbury 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 | #42,163 | #46,548 | -10.4% |
| Count | 515 | 493 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.17 | 0.16 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Norbury bearers went from 515 to 493 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 4,385 positions in the national ranking, going from #42,163 to #46,548.
FAQ
Norbury surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Norbury?
Name Census estimates that about 565 living Americans carry the surname Norbury. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 606,645 residents.
How common is Norbury?
Norbury ranks #46,548 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.16 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 493 people with the surname Norbury. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (565), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.16 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Norbury.
Has Norbury become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Norbury went from 515 recorded bearers to 493. That is a decrease of 22 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #42,163 to #46,548.
What does the Census say about the background of Norbury?
Among Census respondents with the surname Norbury, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.5%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Norbury in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.0% (434 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Norbury appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.0%), Two or More Races (5.5%), Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Norbury (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 Norbury mean?
From the northern borough, referring to someone living north of a town or borough. 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 Norbury (0.16 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 are called Norbury?
Find out how common the surname Norbury is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.