2000
#3,071
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,825
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.01
Uncommon Last name
Herzog
A German surname derived from the German word for "duke," denoting a person who served or was associated with a duke.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 12,652 Americans carry the last name Herzog. That puts it at #3,194 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 27,091 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Herzog 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 Herzog with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
13K
1 in 27,091
Census rank
#3,194
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,033 bearers of the surname Herzog in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3194th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Herzog, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Herzog
The surname Herzog has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the early medieval period, around the 12th century. The name is derived from the German word "Herzog," which means "duke" or "leader." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname may have held positions of authority or been associated with a ruling ducal house.
In its earliest recorded instances, the name was often spelled with variations like "Herzoge" or "Hertzog." It is likely that these variations stemmed from regional dialects and evolving orthographic conventions of the time. One of the earliest documented references to the name can be found in the medieval Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of official documents and charters from the Holy Roman Empire.
The Herzog surname is thought to have originated in the regions of Bavaria and Franconia, where many noble families and dukedoms were concentrated during the Middle Ages. Some of the earliest known bearers of the name include Johann Herzog, a prominent merchant from Nuremberg born in 1452, and Ulrich Herzog, a scholar and theologian from Augsburg who lived in the late 15th century.
In the 16th century, the name gained further prominence with the rise of the Herzog family of bankers and merchants in Augsburg. This family played a significant role in the economic and cultural life of the city and was closely associated with the Fugger banking dynasty. One notable member was Anton Herzog (1500-1566), a successful merchant and philanthropist who funded the construction of several churches and charitable institutions in Augsburg.
Moving into the 17th and 18th centuries, the Herzog surname continued to be well-represented among the German nobility and intellectual elite. Notable figures from this period include Johann Baptist Herzog (1627-1699), a Jesuit theologian and philosopher from Bamberg, and Johann Jakob Herzog (1734-1799), a prominent jurist and professor of law at the University of Heidelberg.
Throughout the 19th century, the Herzog name gained further recognition with individuals such as Wilhelm Herzog (1801-1867), a German philologist and professor at the University of Jena, and Johann Jakob Herzog (1805-1882), a Swiss Protestant theologian and Biblical scholar who was a professor at the University of Erlangen.
In more recent times, the Herzog surname has been carried by several notable figures, including Alain Herzog (1938-2022), a French philosopher and writer, and Werner Herzog (born 1942), the renowned German film director, screenwriter, and actor known for films such as Fitzcarraldo, Rescue Dawn, and Grizzly Man.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Herzog
Among Census respondents with the surname Herzog, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Herzog 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 Herzog surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 10,237
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 372
- Two or more races2.4% · 261
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 88
- Black or African American0.5% · 55
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Herzog
Herzog 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
#3,239
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,146
+321 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 3.78
Rank movement Down 168 places
2020
#3,194
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,033
-113 bearers (-1.0%)
Per 100,000 3.69
Rank movement Up 45 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,071 | 10,825 | 4.01 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,239 | 11,146 | 3.78 | +321 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 168 places |
| 2020 | #3,194 | 11,033 | 3.69 | -113 bearers (-1.0%) | Up 45 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 Herzog 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 | #3,239 | #3,194 | 1.4% |
| Count | 11,146 | 11,033 | -1.0% |
| Per 100K | 3.78 | 3.69 | -2.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Herzog bearers went from 11,146 to 11,033 (-1.0% change). The surname moved up 45 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,239 to #3,194.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Herzog
FAQ
Herzog surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Herzog?
Name Census estimates that about 12,652 living Americans carry the surname Herzog. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 27,091 residents.
How common is Herzog?
Herzog ranks #3,194 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.69 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,033 people with the surname Herzog. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (12,652), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.69 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Herzog.
Has Herzog become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Herzog went from 11,146 recorded bearers to 11,033. That is a decrease of 113 (-1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #3,239 to #3,194.
What does the Census say about the background of Herzog?
Among Census respondents with the surname Herzog, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Herzog in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (10,237 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Herzog appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Herzog (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 Herzog mean?
A German surname derived from the German word for "duke," denoting a person who served or was associated with a duke. 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 Herzog (3.69 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 common is the surname Herzog?
See how many Americans have the surname Herzog on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.