Explore the Family Name Babbage
The meaning of Babbage
1. English (Devon): perhaps a nickname for someone given to mockery or fooling people, or alternatively for someone who stammered or spoke indistinctly. The source looks like an unrecorded Anglo-Norman French ba(u)bich, bobich, Middle English ba(u)bi(s)ch, bobi(s)ch, with two possible senses. It could be related to Middle English babishen ‘to mock, scoff at’, from the same root as Old French baubir, bober ‘to mock, deride, make fun of’, and Anglo-Norman French baubeur ‘false, insincere person’ (compare Middle English bobben ‘to deride, make a fool of’). Alternatively, the surname might be related to Anglo-Norman French balbuisir (from Latin balbutire) ‘to stammer, speak indistinctly’, with the same root as Old French bauber, Anglo-Norman French baber ‘to stammer’, and Anglo-Norman French baube ‘stammering’ (from Latin balbus) and baubeur ‘stammerer’. 2. In some cases also an Americanized form of Serbian Babić (see Babic).
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Babbage in the United States?
According to data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Babbage has seen a slight decrease over time. In 2000, it was ranked as the 108,734th most popular surname and by 2010 it had slipped slightly to the 109,758th position, indicating a change of -0.94%. Despite this drop in rankings, the actual count of people bearing the surname Babbage saw an increase of 6.62% from 151 in 2000 to 161 in 2010. However, when considering the proportion per 100k people, there's been a decline of 16.67%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #108,734 | #109,758 | -0.94% |
| Count | 151 | 161 | 6.62% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.06 | 0.05 | -16.67% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Babbage
In terms of ethnicity, data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals some shifts between 2000 and 2010. The majority of individuals with the Babbage surname identified as White, increasing from 78.81% in 2000 to 82.61% in 2010. Those identifying as Black declined notably from 17.22% to 11.80% during the same period. Additionally, in 2010, a small percentage (4.97%) reported having two or more ethnic identities. There were no reports of Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaskan Native among the Babbage surname bearers for both years.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 78.81% | 82.61% | 4.82% |
| Black | 17.22% | 11.8% | -31.48% |
| Two or More Races | 0% | 4.97% | 0% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Hispanic | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0% | 0% |