2000
#1,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 31,159
First available Census row
Per 100,000 11.55
Uncommon Last name
Albert
A French and English surname derived from the Germanic name Adalbrecht, meaning "noble and bright."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 34,849 Americans carry the last name Albert. That puts it at #1,130 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 10.17 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 9,835 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Albert 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 Albert with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
35K
1 in 9,835
Census rank
#1,130
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
10.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
30K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 30,390 bearers of the surname Albert in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 10.17 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1130th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Albert, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.5%. The next largest groups are Black (14.3%) and Hispanic (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Albert
The surname ALBERT is believed to have originated in Germany, where it was derived from the Old German personal name Adalbert or Albrecht. This name is composed of the elements "adal," meaning noble, and "beraht," meaning bright or illustrious.
The name first appeared in Germany during the medieval period and was particularly prevalent in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony. It is thought to have been introduced to England and other parts of Europe through the Norman Conquest in the 11th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name ALBERT can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land and property ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The surname appears in various spellings, such as Albrecht and Albright, reflecting its Germanic roots.
In the 12th century, a notable figure bearing the name ALBERT was Albertus Magnus, a German Dominican friar and philosopher born in 1193 (or 1206, according to some sources) and died in 1280. He was a prolific writer and is considered one of the greatest thinkers of the Middle Ages.
Another historical figure with the surname ALBERT was Leon Battista Alberti, an Italian Renaissance humanist, author, artist, architect, poet, priest, linguist, philosopher, and cryptographer. He was born in 1404 in Genoa and died in 1472 in Rome.
In the 16th century, the name ALBERT was associated with a place in Picardy, France, known as Albert. This place name likely influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname in certain regions.
During the 17th century, a prominent bearer of the name ALBERT was Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who was born in 1819 and died in 1861. He was the husband of Queen Victoria and is renowned for his support of the arts, sciences, and industrial development in Britain.
Another notable figure with the surname ALBERT was Albert Einstein, the renowned theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate. He was born in 1879 in Ulm, Germany, and died in 1955 in Princeton, New Jersey. Einstein's groundbreaking work on the theory of relativity revolutionized our understanding of space, time, and gravity.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Albert
Among Census respondents with the surname Albert, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.5%. The next largest groups are Black (14.3%) and Hispanic (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Albert 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 Albert surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.5% · 22,021
- Black or African American14.3% · 4,332
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 1,576
- Two or more races3.4% · 1,036
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 945
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 480
Timeline
Historical Census data for Albert
Albert 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
#1,076
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 32,507
+1,348 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 11.02
Rank movement Down 48 places
2020
#1,130
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 30,390
-2,117 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 10.17
Rank movement Down 54 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,028 | 31,159 | 11.55 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,076 | 32,507 | 11.02 | +1,348 bearers (+4.3%) | Down 48 places |
| 2020 | #1,130 | 30,390 | 10.17 | -2,117 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 54 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 Albert 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 | #1,076 | #1,130 | -5.0% |
| Count | 32,507 | 30,390 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 11.02 | 10.17 | -7.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Albert bearers went from 32,507 to 30,390 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 54 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,076 to #1,130.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Albert
FAQ
Albert surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Albert?
Name Census estimates that about 34,849 living Americans carry the surname Albert. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 9,835 residents.
How common is Albert?
Albert ranks #1,130 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 10.17 per 100,000 residents, which is about 10 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 30,390 people with the surname Albert. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (34,849), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 10.17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 10.17 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 10 of them to have the surname Albert.
Has Albert become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Albert went from 32,507 recorded bearers to 30,390. That is a decrease of 2,117 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,076 to #1,130.
What does the Census say about the background of Albert?
Among Census respondents with the surname Albert, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.5%. The next largest groups are Black (14.3%) and Hispanic (5.2%). 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 Albert in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.5% (22,021 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Albert appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.5%), Black (14.3%), Hispanic (5.2%). 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 Albert (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 Albert mean?
A French and English surname derived from the Germanic name Adalbrecht, meaning "noble and bright." 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 Albert (10.17 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 share the surname Albert?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.