2000
#19,343
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,296
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.48
Rare Last name
Friedberg
A German surname referring to a mountain meadow or pasture.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,466 Americans carry the last name Friedberg. That puts it at #20,921 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.43 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 233,802 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Friedberg 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 233,802
Census rank
#20,921
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,278 bearers of the surname Friedberg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.43 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 20921st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Friedberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Friedberg
The surname Friedberg is of German origin, derived from the place name Friedberg, which means "peaceful mountain" or "peaceful hill." The name first appeared in the 12th century in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Hesse, and Saxony.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Friedberg can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the Anhalt region of Germany, dated around 1180. This document mentions a person named "Heinricus de Friedberg."
Another early reference to the name Friedberg appears in the Liber Censualis, a tax register compiled in the 13th century for the Holy Roman Empire. This document lists several individuals with the surname Friedberg in the town of Friedberg, located in the present-day state of Hesse, Germany.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Friedberg was Hermann von Friedberg (c. 1245 – c. 1320), a German canon lawyer and author of the influential legal text "Summa decretalium." He was born in the town of Friedberg and served as a canon of the cathedral chapter in Bamberg.
In the 14th century, the surname Friedberg appears in the Annales Sancti Blasii, a chronicle of the Benedictine abbey of St. Blasien in the Black Forest region of Germany. The chronicle mentions a man named "Conradus Friedberg" who lived during that period.
Another notable figure with the surname Friedberg was Johann Friedberg (c. 1515 – 1590), a German Protestant theologian and reformer. He was born in the town of Friedberg in Hesse and played a significant role in the Reformation movement in that region.
In the 18th century, Johann Christian Friedberg (1720 – 1796) was a renowned German composer and organist. He was born in the town of Friedberg in Bavaria and served as the court organist and composer for the Elector of Mainz.
The surname Friedberg has also been associated with several place names throughout Germany, such as Friedberg in Hesse, Friedberg in Bavaria, and Friedberg in Saxony, among others. These place names likely contributed to the widespread use of the surname in various regions of Germany.
Overall, the surname Friedberg has a rich historical background, tracing its origins back to the 12th century and the German regions where it was first established. It has been borne by several notable individuals throughout history, including legal scholars, theologians, and composers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Friedberg
Among Census respondents with the surname Friedberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Friedberg 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 Friedberg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 1,177
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 56
- Two or more races2.1% · 27
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 12
- Black or African American0.5% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Friedberg
Friedberg 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
#20,574
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,288
-8 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 0.44
Rank movement Down 1,231 places
2020
#20,921
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,278
-10 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.43
Rank movement Down 347 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #19,343 | 1,296 | 0.48 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #20,574 | 1,288 | 0.44 | -8 bearers (-0.6%) | Down 1,231 places |
| 2020 | #20,921 | 1,278 | 0.43 | -10 bearers (-0.8%) | Down 347 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 Friedberg 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 | #20,574 | #20,921 | -1.7% |
| Count | 1,288 | 1,278 | -0.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.44 | 0.43 | -2.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Friedberg bearers went from 1,288 to 1,278 (-0.8% change). The surname moved down 347 positions in the national ranking, going from #20,574 to #20,921.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Friedberg
FAQ
Friedberg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Friedberg?
Name Census estimates that about 1,466 living Americans carry the surname Friedberg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 233,802 residents.
How common is Friedberg?
Friedberg ranks #20,921 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 1,278 people with the surname Friedberg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,466), 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 Friedberg.
Has Friedberg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Friedberg went from 1,288 recorded bearers to 1,278. That is a decrease of 10 (-0.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #20,574 to #20,921.
What does the Census say about the background of Friedberg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Friedberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Friedberg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (1,177 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Friedberg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Hispanic (4.4%), Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Friedberg (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 Friedberg mean?
A German surname referring to a mountain meadow or pasture. 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 Friedberg (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 have the surname Friedberg?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.