2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Altenbernd
Derived from a place name meaning "old hill" or "old mountain" in German.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Altenbernd. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Altenbernd 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Altenbernd in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Altenbernd, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Altenbernd
The surname ALTENBERND is of German origin, derived from the Old German words "alt" meaning old and "bernd" meaning bear. It likely originated in the Middle Ages as a descriptive name given to someone who lived near an old bear den or inhabited an area known for its bear population.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th century in regions of present-day southern Germany and northern Switzerland. In 1287, a Heinricus Altenbernd was mentioned in a municipal record from the town of Freiburg im Breisgau.
During the late medieval period, variations of the name such as Altenbernt, Altenberndt, and Altenberger appeared in various charters and tax rolls across the Germanic regions. The name was particularly prevalent in the Black Forest area of Baden-Württemberg, where it was associated with several noble families.
One notable bearer of the name was Hans Altenbernd (c.1450-1521), a wealthy merchant and landowner from the town of Villingen. His family's coat of arms, featuring a rampant bear on a field of gules, was a nod to the name's meaning.
In the 16th century, the Altenbernd name spread to other parts of Europe through migration and trade. Johann Altenbernd (1520-1589), a German Protestant theologian and professor at the University of Heidelberg, was instrumental in promoting the Reformation in the Palatinate region.
As the centuries passed, the name continued to appear in various records and historical documents. During the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), a Captain Altenbernd is mentioned as leading a mercenary company in the service of the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus.
In the 19th century, the surname gained prominence in the United States as German immigrants settled in various parts of the country. One notable American bearer was August Altenbernd (1832-1911), a successful brewer and businessman who founded the Altenbernd Brewing Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Throughout its long history, the ALTENBERND surname has been borne by individuals from diverse backgrounds, ranging from nobles and scholars to military leaders and entrepreneurs, all connected by their shared Germanic heritage and the evocative meaning of their name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Altenbernd
Among Census respondents with the surname Altenbernd, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Altenbernd 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 Altenbernd surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.3% · 105
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Altenbernd
Altenbernd 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
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+7 bearers (+6.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,445 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-11 bearers (-9.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,977 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #136,783 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.2%) | Down 2,445 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-9.2%) | Down 10,977 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 Altenbernd 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 | #139,228 | #150,205 | -7.9% |
| Count | 120 | 109 | -9.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Altenbernd bearers went from 120 to 109 (-9.2% change). The surname moved down 10,977 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #150,205.
FAQ
Altenbernd surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Altenbernd?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Altenbernd. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Altenbernd?
Altenbernd ranks #150,205 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 109 people with the surname Altenbernd. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), 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 Altenbernd.
Has Altenbernd become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Altenbernd went from 120 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 11 (-9.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Altenbernd?
Among Census respondents with the surname Altenbernd, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Altenbernd in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.3% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Altenbernd appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.3%), Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Altenbernd (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 Altenbernd mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "old hill" or "old mountain" in German. 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 Altenbernd (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 common is the surname Altenbernd?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Altenbernd, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.