2000
#2,052
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,165
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.99
Uncommon Last name
Baer
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname referring to someone living in Bavaria or originating from there.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 18,019 Americans carry the last name Baer. That puts it at #2,251 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.26 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,022 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Baer 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 Baer with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
18K
1 in 19,022
Census rank
#2,251
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,713 bearers of the surname Baer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.26 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2251st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Baer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Baer
The surname Baer has its origins in Germany and is a derivative of the German word "Bär," which translates to "bear" in English. This name likely emerged in the Middle Ages as a descriptive surname, given to individuals who bore a resemblance to a bear or possessed bear-like qualities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Baer can be found in the German town of Bärenburg, which dates back to the 13th century. This place name suggests that the surname may have originated from a location associated with bears or bear hunting.
In the 14th century, the name Baer appeared in various historical records, including the Württembergisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of documents from the former state of Württemberg in Germany. This indicates that the surname was well-established by that time.
During the 16th century, the Baer surname gained prominence with notable individuals such as Johannes Baer (1515-1596), a German Lutheran theologian and Hebraist. Another prominent figure was Johann Baer (1592-1669), a German mathematician and astronomer.
In the 18th century, Johann Jakob Baer (1701-1758) was a Swiss painter and etcher known for his landscape and architectural works. Around the same time, Karl Ernst von Baer (1792-1876) was a renowned Estonian embryologist and biologist who made significant contributions to the study of embryology and geography.
Moving into the 19th century, Georg Baer (1831-1892) was a German-American brewer who founded the Baer Brewing Company in Los Angeles, California, which became one of the largest breweries in the region.
Throughout its history, the Baer surname has been associated with various spellings, including Bär, Bär, Baehr, and Behr, reflecting regional variations and linguistic influences. These variations highlight the rich tapestry of cultural and linguistic diversity that has shaped the evolution of surnames over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Baer
Among Census respondents with the surname Baer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Baer 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 Baer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 14,497
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 492
- Two or more races2.7% · 430
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 151
- Black or African American0.6% · 91
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 52
Timeline
Historical Census data for Baer
Baer 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
#2,192
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,587
+422 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 5.62
Rank movement Down 140 places
2020
#2,251
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,713
-874 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 5.26
Rank movement Down 59 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,052 | 16,165 | 5.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,192 | 16,587 | 5.62 | +422 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 140 places |
| 2020 | #2,251 | 15,713 | 5.26 | -874 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 59 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 Baer 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 | #2,192 | #2,251 | -2.7% |
| Count | 16,587 | 15,713 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 5.62 | 5.26 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Baer bearers went from 16,587 to 15,713 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 59 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,192 to #2,251.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Baer
FAQ
Baer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Baer?
Name Census estimates that about 18,019 living Americans carry the surname Baer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,022 residents.
How common is Baer?
Baer ranks #2,251 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.26 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,713 people with the surname Baer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (18,019), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.26 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.26 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Baer.
Has Baer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Baer went from 16,587 recorded bearers to 15,713. That is a decrease of 874 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,192 to #2,251.
What does the Census say about the background of Baer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Baer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Baer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (14,497 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Baer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Baer (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 Baer mean?
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname referring to someone living in Bavaria or originating from there. 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 Baer (5.26 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 people share the surname Baer?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.