2000
#51,680
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 378
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.14
Very Rare Last name
Burckhardt
A locational German surname derived from a place name meaning "bright fortress."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 477 Americans carry the last name Burckhardt. That puts it at #53,634 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 718,563 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Burckhardt 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
477
1 in 718,563
Census rank
#53,634
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
416
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 416 bearers of the surname Burckhardt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 53634th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Burckhardt, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Burckhardt
The surname Burckhardt originates from Germany, tracing its roots back to the Middle Ages. It is a compound name derived from the Germanic elements "burg," meaning a fortified town or castle, and "hart," signifying hardy, brave, or strong. The earliest known spelling variations include Burckhardt, Burkhart, Burckart, and Burckard.
In medieval times, the Burckhardt name was associated with individuals residing in or near fortified settlements, possibly serving as guards, soldiers, or town officials. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a 12th-century collection of documents from the Principality of Anhalt in central Germany, where a certain "Burchardus de Wittenburg" is mentioned.
The Burckhardt surname gained prominence in the 14th century when Johann Burckhardt, a merchant and diplomat from Augsburg, played a significant role in negotiating trade agreements between European cities. His son, Johann Burckhardt II (1395-1472), was a renowned humanist scholar and philosopher who corresponded with the likes of Erasmus and participated in the Council of Basel.
Another notable figure was Jacob Burckhardt (1818-1897), a Swiss historian and pioneer of cultural history, widely regarded for his work "The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy." His cousin, John Lewis Burckhardt (1784-1817), was an explorer and traveler who made significant contributions to the study of the Middle East, particularly through his rediscovery of the ancient city of Petra.
In the realm of art, Carl Burckhardt (1891-1974) was a Swiss painter and sculptor known for his expressionist works, while Titus Burckhardt (1908-1984) was an influential scholar of Islamic art and metaphysics.
The Burckhardt name has also been associated with several prominent theologians and religious figures, such as Johann Georg Burckhardt (1620-1679), a Lutheran minister and hymnist, and Jakob Burckhardt (1681-1753), a Swiss Reformed theologian and philosopher.
Throughout its long history, the Burckhardt surname has been carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds, including scholars, artists, explorers, and religious leaders, reflecting the rich tapestry of German and Swiss heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Burckhardt
Among Census respondents with the surname Burckhardt, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Burckhardt 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 Burckhardt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.5% · 368
- Hispanic or Latino7.2% · 30
- Two or more races2.6% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Burckhardt
Burckhardt 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
#49,087
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 429
+51 bearers (+13.5%)
Per 100,000 0.15
Rank movement Up 2,593 places
2020
#53,634
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 416
-13 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 0.14
Rank movement Down 4,547 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #51,680 | 378 | 0.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #49,087 | 429 | 0.15 | +51 bearers (+13.5%) | Up 2,593 places |
| 2020 | #53,634 | 416 | 0.14 | -13 bearers (-3.0%) | Down 4,547 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 Burckhardt 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 | #49,087 | #53,634 | -9.3% |
| Count | 429 | 416 | -3.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.15 | 0.14 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Burckhardt bearers went from 429 to 416 (-3.0% change). The surname moved down 4,547 positions in the national ranking, going from #49,087 to #53,634.
FAQ
Burckhardt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Burckhardt?
Name Census estimates that about 477 living Americans carry the surname Burckhardt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 718,563 residents.
How common is Burckhardt?
Burckhardt ranks #53,634 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.14 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 416 people with the surname Burckhardt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (477), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.14 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 Burckhardt.
Has Burckhardt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Burckhardt went from 429 recorded bearers to 416. That is a decrease of 13 (-3.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #49,087 to #53,634.
What does the Census say about the background of Burckhardt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Burckhardt, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) 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 Burckhardt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.5% (368 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Burckhardt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.5%), Hispanic (7.2%), 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 Burckhardt (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 Burckhardt mean?
A locational German surname derived from a place name meaning "bright fortress." 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 Burckhardt (0.14 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 Americans have the surname Burckhardt?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.