2000
#716
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 43,556
First available Census row
Per 100,000 16.15
Uncommon Last name
Berger
An occupational surname of German and French origin referring to a shepherd or someone who tended sheep.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 47,767 Americans carry the last name Berger. That puts it at #806 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 13.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 7,176 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Berger 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 Berger with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
48K
1 in 7,176
Census rank
#806
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
13.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
42K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 41,655 bearers of the surname Berger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 13.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 806th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Berger, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Berger
The surname "Berger" originated in Germany and Switzerland, and it has been around since the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the German word "Berg," which means "mountain" or "hill," and the suffix "-er," which indicates an occupation or a person's place of origin. Therefore, "Berger" likely referred to someone who lived on or near a mountain or hill, or someone whose occupation was related to mountains or hills, such as a shepherd or a miner.
The earliest recorded examples of the name can be found in medieval German documents and records. For instance, the name "Berger" appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Quedlinburgensis, a collection of charters and documents from the Quedlinburg Abbey in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, dating back to the 10th century.
In Switzerland, the name "Berger" can be traced back to the 13th century. One notable Swiss Berger was Johannes Berger, a prominent cleric and theologian who lived in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. He served as the Bishop of Constance from 1418 to 1433.
In England, the name "Berger" is believed to have arrived with German and Swiss immigrants in the 16th and 17th centuries. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in England is that of Hans Berger, a German-born musician and composer who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He served as a lutenist and composer at the court of King James I.
Another famous person with the surname "Berger" was the German painter and printmaker Hans Sebald Beham (1500-1550), who was also known as Hans Sebald Berger. He was a prominent figure in the German Renaissance and is known for his intricate engravings and woodcuts.
In the 19th century, the German philosopher and psychologist Hans Berger (1873-1941) made significant contributions to the field of neuroscience. He is best known for his discovery of the electrical activity of the human brain, which he called the "Berger rhythm" or the "alpha wave."
The surname "Berger" has also been associated with various place names throughout Europe, such as Bergerhuizen in the Netherlands, Bergershausen in Germany, and Bergerac in France. These place names often reflect the presence of mountains or hills in the area, further reinforcing the connection between the name "Berger" and its geographical origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Berger
Among Census respondents with the surname Berger, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Berger 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 Berger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 37,672
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 1,371
- Two or more races2.8% · 1,185
- Black or African American2.4% · 988
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 326
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 113
Timeline
Historical Census data for Berger
Berger 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
#785
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 43,851
+295 bearers (+0.7%)
Per 100,000 14.87
Rank movement Down 69 places
2020
#806
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 41,655
-2,196 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 13.94
Rank movement Down 21 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #716 | 43,556 | 16.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #785 | 43,851 | 14.87 | +295 bearers (+0.7%) | Down 69 places |
| 2020 | #806 | 41,655 | 13.94 | -2,196 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 21 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 Berger 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 | #785 | #806 | -2.7% |
| Count | 43,851 | 41,655 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 14.87 | 13.94 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Berger bearers went from 43,851 to 41,655 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 21 positions in the national ranking, going from #785 to #806.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Berger
FAQ
Berger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Berger?
Name Census estimates that about 47,767 living Americans carry the surname Berger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 7,176 residents.
How common is Berger?
Berger ranks #806 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 13.94 per 100,000 residents, which is about 14 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 41,655 people with the surname Berger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (47,767), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 13.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 13.94 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 14 of them to have the surname Berger.
Has Berger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Berger went from 43,851 recorded bearers to 41,655. That is a decrease of 2,196 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #785 to #806.
What does the Census say about the background of Berger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Berger, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Berger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (37,672 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Berger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.4%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Berger (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 Berger mean?
An occupational surname of German and French origin referring to a shepherd or someone who tended sheep. 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 Berger (13.94 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 last name Berger?
See how many people have the last name Berger on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.