2000
#48,196
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 412
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.15
Very Rare Last name
Spielberg
An Ashkenazic Jewish surname referring to a town or area where games or plays were staged.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 429 Americans carry the last name Spielberg. That puts it at #58,578 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 798,961 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Spielberg 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
429
1 in 798,961
Census rank
#58,578
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
374
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 374 bearers of the surname Spielberg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 58578th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Spielberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Spielberg
The surname Spielberg is of German origin, derived from the words "spiel" meaning "play" or "game," and "berg" meaning "hill" or "mountain." It is believed to have originated in the medieval period, possibly as early as the 12th or 13th century.
The name was likely given to individuals who lived near or owned land situated on a hill or mountain where games or sports were played. It may also have been a descriptive name for someone who engaged in or was associated with such activities.
While there are no known references to the name in historical documents like the Domesday Book, some of the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in various German records and church registers from the 16th and 17th centuries. For example, a record from 1555 mentions a Johannes Spielberg in the town of Neustadt an der Weinstraße, and in 1624, a Hans Spielberg was documented in the village of Oberwiesenthal.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname was Johann Spielberg (1592-1662), a German composer and organist who served at the court of the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. Another early bearer of the name was Johann Christoph Spielberg (1685-1745), a German theologian and author from Strasbourg.
The Spielberg surname has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as the town of Spielberg in Lower Saxony and the municipality of Spielberg in Bavaria. These place names may have contributed to the spread and adoption of the surname in different regions.
Other notable individuals with the surname Spielberg throughout history include:
1. Friedrich Spielberg (1811-1872), a German writer and translator.
2. Carl Spielberg (1873-1943), a German-American businessman and philanthropist.
3. Arnold Spielberg (1917-2020), an American electrical engineer and father of filmmaker Steven Spielberg.
4. Steven Spielberg (born 1946), the renowned American filmmaker known for movies like Jaws, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Schindler's List.
5. Leah Spielberg Adler (1920-2017), Steven Spielberg's mother and a former concert pianist.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Spielberg
Among Census respondents with the surname Spielberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Spielberg 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 Spielberg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0% · 344
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 10
- Two or more races2.4% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 7
- Black or African American1.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Spielberg
Spielberg 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
#53,419
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 387
-25 bearers (-6.1%)
Per 100,000 0.13
Rank movement Down 5,223 places
2020
#58,578
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 374
-13 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.13
Rank movement Down 5,159 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #48,196 | 412 | 0.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #53,419 | 387 | 0.13 | -25 bearers (-6.1%) | Down 5,223 places |
| 2020 | #58,578 | 374 | 0.13 | -13 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 5,159 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 Spielberg 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 | #53,419 | #58,578 | -9.7% |
| Count | 387 | 374 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.13 | 0.13 | -3.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Spielberg bearers went from 387 to 374 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 5,159 positions in the national ranking, going from #53,419 to #58,578.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Spielberg
FAQ
Spielberg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Spielberg?
Name Census estimates that about 429 living Americans carry the surname Spielberg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 798,961 residents.
How common is Spielberg?
Spielberg ranks #58,578 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.13 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 374 people with the surname Spielberg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (429), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.13 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 Spielberg.
Has Spielberg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Spielberg went from 387 recorded bearers to 374. That is a decrease of 13 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #53,419 to #58,578.
What does the Census say about the background of Spielberg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Spielberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) 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 Spielberg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (344 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Spielberg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.0%), Hispanic (2.7%), 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 Spielberg (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 Spielberg mean?
An Ashkenazic Jewish surname referring to a town or area where games or plays were staged. 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 Spielberg (0.13 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 are called Spielberg?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Spielberg at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.