2000
#134,929
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Alliger
A derivative of the German "alewiger" referring to someone living by an alder tree.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Alliger. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Alliger 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Alliger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Alliger, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Alliger
The surname ALLIGER is believed to have originated in Germany, with the earliest known records dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Germanic root words "al" meaning "all" and "ger" meaning "spear," suggesting a connection to an ancestral occupation or profession related to spearmaking or warfare.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name ALLIGER can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, Germany. In this manuscript, a person named Henricus Alliger is mentioned in a document dated 1274, indicating the presence of this surname in the region during that time period.
During the Middle Ages, the name ALLIGER was primarily concentrated in the areas of modern-day Germany, particularly in the regions of Saxony, Bavaria, and the Rhineland. Some variations in spelling, such as Alleger and Allger, were also observed in historical records from these regions.
Notably, the ALLIGER name appears in the Breviarium Urspergense, a historical chronicle written in the 12th century by the monks of Ursberg Abbey in Bavaria. This chronicle mentions an individual named Conradus Alliger, who was a prominent figure in the region during the early 13th century.
In the 16th century, the ALLIGER surname gained wider recognition with the birth of Johannes Alliger (1529-1592), a German theologian and professor at the University of Wittenberg. He was a notable figure in the Protestant Reformation and authored several influential works on theology and biblical exegesis.
Another notable bearer of the ALLIGER name was Hans Alliger (1580-1634), a German merchant and politician who served as the mayor of the city of Nuremberg from 1623 to 1634. He played a significant role in the city's governance during the turbulent period of the Thirty Years' War.
In the 18th century, Georg Friedrich Alliger (1723-1807) was a respected German composer and organist. He served as the court organist in Bayreuth and composed numerous works for organ and other instruments, contributing to the rich musical tradition of Germany during that era.
The 19th century saw the birth of Wilhelm Alliger (1840-1912), a German philologist and educator. He taught at various universities in Germany and made significant contributions to the study of Germanic languages and literature, publishing several scholarly works on these subjects.
While the ALLIGER surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora. However, the earliest and most prominent historical records of this surname can be traced back to its Germanic origins, reflecting its connection to the cultural and linguistic heritage of the region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alliger
Among Census respondents with the surname Alliger, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Alliger 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 Alliger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.7% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Alliger
Alliger 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
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,220 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,608 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,929 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 8,220 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 2,608 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 Alliger 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 | #143,149 | #145,757 | -1.8% |
| Count | 116 | 115 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Alliger bearers went from 116 to 115 (-0.9% change). The surname moved down 2,608 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #145,757.
FAQ
Alliger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Alliger?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Alliger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Alliger?
Alliger ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 115 people with the surname Alliger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Alliger.
Has Alliger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Alliger went from 116 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Alliger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Alliger, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Alliger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.7% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Alliger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.7%), Hispanic (1.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Alliger (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 Alliger mean?
A derivative of the German "alewiger" referring to someone living by an alder tree. 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 Alliger (0.04 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 Alliger?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.