2000
#637
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 48,480
First available Census row
Per 100,000 17.97
Uncommon Last name
Berg
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived on or near a hill or mountain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 53,667 Americans carry the last name Berg. That puts it at #720 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 15.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 6,387 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Berg 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 Berg with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
54K
1 in 6,387
Census rank
#720
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
15.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
47K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 46,800 bearers of the surname Berg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 15.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 720th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Berg, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Berg
The surname "BERG" is of Germanic and Scandinavian origin, derived from the Old Norse and Old German words "bergr" or "berg", meaning "hill" or "mountain". It is a topographic name, referring to someone who lived near or on a hill or mountain.
The name can be traced back to the early medieval period, with records of the name appearing in various regions of present-day Germany, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia. One of the earliest known references to the name is found in the Landnámabók, a medieval Icelandic manuscript detailing the settlement of Iceland in the 9th and 10th centuries, where it mentions several individuals with the surname Berg or variants like Bergsson.
In Germany, the surname Berg is found in records as early as the 12th century, such as in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony. Notable individuals with this surname from this period include Johann Berg (c. 1350-1420), a German theologian and rector of the University of Leipzig.
The Domesday Book, a survey of land and property commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the surname Berg. However, it does mention several place names with the element "berg", suggesting the presence of people living near hills or mountains in England at the time.
In Sweden, the surname Berg can be traced back to the 14th century, with records of individuals such as Jöns Berg (c. 1320-1385), a Swedish statesman and member of the Privy Council of Sweden. Other notable Swedish individuals with the surname include Peder Berg (1629-1692), a Swedish politician and governor of Stockholm, and Eva Berg (1923-2008), a renowned Swedish actress.
In Norway, the surname Berg is also found in medieval records, with individuals like Erling Berg (c. 1300-1370), a Norwegian nobleman and military leader during the Norwegian Civil War. Another notable Norwegian with this surname is Johan Berg (1901-1970), a novelist and playwright who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1928.
Other notable individuals with the surname Berg throughout history include Alban Berg (1885-1935), an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School, and Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982), the Swedish actress who starred in several classic films, including Casablanca and Gaslight.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Berg
Among Census respondents with the surname Berg, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Berg 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 Berg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.9% · 43,026
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 1,606
- Two or more races2.9% · 1,364
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 415
- Black or African American0.5% · 218
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 171
Timeline
Historical Census data for Berg
Berg 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
#712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 48,746
+266 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 16.53
Rank movement Down 75 places
2020
#720
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 46,800
-1,946 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 15.66
Rank movement Down 8 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #637 | 48,480 | 17.97 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #712 | 48,746 | 16.53 | +266 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 75 places |
| 2020 | #720 | 46,800 | 15.66 | -1,946 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 8 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 Berg 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 | #712 | #720 | -1.1% |
| Count | 48,746 | 46,800 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 16.53 | 15.66 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Berg bearers went from 48,746 to 46,800 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 8 positions in the national ranking, going from #712 to #720.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Berg
FAQ
Berg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Berg?
Name Census estimates that about 53,667 living Americans carry the surname Berg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 6,387 residents.
How common is Berg?
Berg ranks #720 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 15.66 per 100,000 residents, which is about 16 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 46,800 people with the surname Berg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (53,667), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 15.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 15.66 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 16 of them to have the surname Berg.
Has Berg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Berg went from 48,746 recorded bearers to 46,800. That is a decrease of 1,946 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #712 to #720.
What does the Census say about the background of Berg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Berg, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Berg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (43,026 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Berg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.9%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Berg (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 Berg mean?
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived on or near a hill or mountain. 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 Berg (15.66 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 have the surname Berg?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.