2000
#12,799
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,208
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.82
Rare Last name
Silber
A German and Jewish surname derived from the German word for "silver," likely referring to a silversmith or jeweler.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,890 Americans carry the last name Silber. That puts it at #11,880 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 118,600 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Silber 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
2.9K
1 in 118,600
Census rank
#11,880
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,520 bearers of the surname Silber in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11880th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Silber, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Silber
The surname Silber is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "silber" meaning "silver." This suggests that the name may have originated from a silversmith or someone who worked with silver in some capacity.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Silber can be traced back to the 14th century in various regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around Bavaria and Saxony. It is possible that the name was also adopted by Jewish families who worked as silversmiths or money lenders, as the name is somewhat common among Ashkenazi Jews.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Hans Silber, a merchant from Nuremberg, who was mentioned in city records dating back to the late 1300s. Another notable figure was Joachim Silber, a German painter and engraver who lived in the 16th century and was known for his religious works.
In the 17th century, the Silber family was well-established in the region of Silesia, which was then a part of the Holy Roman Empire. Johann Silber (1638-1701) was a prominent Lutheran theologian and author who served as a pastor in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland).
During the 18th and 19th centuries, many individuals bearing the surname Silber emigrated from various parts of Germany and settled in other European countries, as well as in the United States and Canada. One notable figure from this period was Theodor Silber (1811-1875), a German-American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the German Society of Pennsylvania in 1864.
Other notable individuals with the surname Silber include Ilana Silber (1952-2005), an American artist and sculptor known for her large-scale public installations, and Marcos Silber (born 1967), an Argentine filmmaker and screenwriter who directed several critically acclaimed films in the early 2000s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Silber
Among Census respondents with the surname Silber, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Silber 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 Silber surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.3% · 2,376
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 76
- Two or more races1.3% · 34
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 19
- Black or African American0.5% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Silber
Silber 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
#12,878
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,390
+182 bearers (+8.2%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 79 places
2020
#11,880
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,520
+130 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Up 998 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,799 | 2,208 | 0.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,878 | 2,390 | 0.81 | +182 bearers (+8.2%) | Down 79 places |
| 2020 | #11,880 | 2,520 | 0.84 | +130 bearers (+5.4%) | Up 998 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 Silber 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 | #12,878 | #11,880 | 7.7% |
| Count | 2,390 | 2,520 | 5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.81 | 0.84 | 4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Silber bearers went from 2,390 to 2,520 (+5.4% change). The surname moved up 998 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,878 to #11,880.
FAQ
Silber surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Silber?
Name Census estimates that about 2,890 living Americans carry the surname Silber. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 118,600 residents.
How common is Silber?
Silber ranks #11,880 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,520 people with the surname Silber. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,890), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.84 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Silber.
Has Silber become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Silber went from 2,390 recorded bearers to 2,520. That is an increase of 130 (+5.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,878 to #11,880.
What does the Census say about the background of Silber?
Among Census respondents with the surname Silber, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Silber in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.3% (2,376 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Silber appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.3%), Hispanic (3.0%), Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Silber (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 Silber mean?
A German and Jewish surname derived from the German word for "silver," likely referring to a silversmith or jeweler. 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 Silber (0.84 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 Silber?
You can see how many Americans have the surname Silber on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.