2000
#15,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,801
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.67
Rare Last name
Berthold
A German surname meaning "bright ruler" or "bright lord".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,482 Americans carry the last name Berthold. That puts it at #20,731 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.43 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 231,278 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Berthold 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.
Bearers in the US
1.5K
1 in 231,278
Census rank
#20,731
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,292 bearers of the surname Berthold in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.43 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 20731st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Berthold, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Berthold
The surname Berthold originated in Germany during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old German words "beraht" meaning bright and "waldan" meaning to rule or govern. The name translates to "bright ruler" or "illustrious ruler."
The earliest known bearer of the name was Berthold, Duke of Bavaria, who lived from around 900 to 947 AD. He was a member of the Luitpolding dynasty and served as the Duke of Bavaria from 938 until his death.
Another early reference to the name can be found in the Codex Traditionum Monasterii Raittenbuch, a 12th-century manuscript from the Raittenbuch Monastery in Bavaria. The document mentions a Berthold von Raitenbuch who donated land to the monastery in 1157.
One of the most famous bearers of the name was Berthold of Regensburg, a Franciscan friar and preacher who lived from around 1220 to 1272. He is known for his sermons and his work in promoting the Franciscan order in Germany.
In the 13th century, the name appears in the form "Bertold" in the Annales Colonienses Maximi, a chronicle of events in the city of Cologne from the 4th to the 13th century.
Berthold Schwarz, a German monk and alchemist who lived from around 1310 to 1384, is credited with the invention of gunpowder in Europe, although this claim is disputed by some historians.
Other notable individuals with the surname Berthold include Berthold of Henneberg (1442-1504), a German nobleman and Archbishop of Mainz, and Berthold Auerbach (1812-1882), a German-Jewish poet and author known for his novels depicting village life in the Black Forest region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Berthold
Among Census respondents with the surname Berthold, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Berthold 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 Berthold surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.4% · 1,116
- Black or African American5.0% · 64
- Two or more races4.4% · 57
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 38
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Berthold
Berthold 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
#17,752
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,578
-223 bearers (-12.4%)
Per 100,000 0.53
Rank movement Down 2,715 places
2020
#20,731
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,292
-286 bearers (-18.1%)
Per 100,000 0.43
Rank movement Down 2,979 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,037 | 1,801 | 0.67 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #17,752 | 1,578 | 0.53 | -223 bearers (-12.4%) | Down 2,715 places |
| 2020 | #20,731 | 1,292 | 0.43 | -286 bearers (-18.1%) | Down 2,979 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 Berthold 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 | #17,752 | #20,731 | -16.8% |
| Count | 1,578 | 1,292 | -18.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.53 | 0.43 | -18.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Berthold bearers went from 1,578 to 1,292 (-18.1% change). The surname moved down 2,979 positions in the national ranking, going from #17,752 to #20,731.
FAQ
Berthold surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Berthold?
Name Census estimates that about 1,482 living Americans carry the surname Berthold. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 231,278 residents.
How common is Berthold?
Berthold ranks #20,731 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.43 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,292 people with the surname Berthold. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,482), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.43 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.43 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Berthold.
Has Berthold become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Berthold went from 1,578 recorded bearers to 1,292. That is a decrease of 286 (-18.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #17,752 to #20,731.
What does the Census say about the background of Berthold?
Among Census respondents with the surname Berthold, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Berthold in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.4% (1,116 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Berthold appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.4%), Black (5.0%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Berthold (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 Berthold mean?
A German surname meaning "bright ruler" or "bright lord". 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 Berthold (0.43 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 Berthold?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.