2000
#7,698
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,986
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.48
Rare Last name
Auger
An occupational surname for a carpenter or maker of augers, a type of hand drill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,276 Americans carry the last name Auger. That puts it at #8,491 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.25 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 80,158 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Auger 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 Auger with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.3K
1 in 80,158
Census rank
#8,491
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,729 bearers of the surname Auger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.25 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8491st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Auger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Auger
The surname Auger originated in France during the medieval period. The name is derived from the Old French word 'auger', meaning a type of drill or boring tool used by carpenters and woodworkers. It was likely an occupational surname given to those who worked as carpenters or makers of such tools.
The earliest recorded instances of the Auger surname can be found in French records dating back to the 12th century. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Radulfus Auger, who was mentioned in the Cartulaire de Savigny in 1188. Another early reference is to a Johannes Auger, recorded in the Testa de Nevill, a survey of land ownership in England from 1219-1235.
During the Middle Ages, the Auger family was well-established in the region of Normandy in northern France. Some early notable individuals with this surname include Guillaume Auger (1530-1595), a French lawyer and jurist who served as a counselor in the Parlement of Paris. Jean Auger (1564-1635) was a French Jesuit priest and polemicist who was a prominent figure during the Counter-Reformation.
As the surname spread across Europe, variants and spellings emerged. In England, the name was sometimes anglicized to Augar or Augur. Robert Augar (1427-1506) was an English ecclesiastic who served as the Bishop of Hereford from 1492 until his death. Sir Anthony Aucher (1514-1568) was an English landowner and member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
In Germany, the Auger surname was sometimes spelled as Auger or Augur. One notable bearer was Johann Christoph Auger (1687-1756), a German mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics. Another was Johann Friedrich Augur (1720-1797), a German philosopher and theologian who wrote extensively on ethics and moral philosophy.
While the Auger surname has its origins in France, it has since spread to many other countries and regions around the world, carried by various waves of migration and settlement over the centuries. Despite its occupational beginnings, the name has been borne by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Auger
Among Census respondents with the surname Auger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Auger 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 Auger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 3,457
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 116
- Two or more races2.6% · 97
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 29
- Black or African American0.4% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Auger
Auger 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
#7,911
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,182
+196 bearers (+4.9%)
Per 100,000 1.42
Rank movement Down 213 places
2020
#8,491
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,729
-453 bearers (-10.8%)
Per 100,000 1.25
Rank movement Down 580 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,698 | 3,986 | 1.48 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,911 | 4,182 | 1.42 | +196 bearers (+4.9%) | Down 213 places |
| 2020 | #8,491 | 3,729 | 1.25 | -453 bearers (-10.8%) | Down 580 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 Auger 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 | #7,911 | #8,491 | -7.3% |
| Count | 4,182 | 3,729 | -10.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.42 | 1.25 | -12.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Auger bearers went from 4,182 to 3,729 (-10.8% change). The surname moved down 580 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,911 to #8,491.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Auger
FAQ
Auger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Auger?
Name Census estimates that about 4,276 living Americans carry the surname Auger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 80,158 residents.
How common is Auger?
Auger ranks #8,491 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.25 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,729 people with the surname Auger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,276), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.25 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.25 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Auger.
Has Auger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Auger went from 4,182 recorded bearers to 3,729. That is a decrease of 453 (-10.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,911 to #8,491.
What does the Census say about the background of Auger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Auger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Auger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (3,457 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Auger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Auger (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 Auger mean?
An occupational surname for a carpenter or maker of augers, a type of hand drill. 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 Auger (1.25 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 share the surname Auger?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.