2000
#12,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,288
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Apgar
An occupational surname for a person who kept bees or sold honey.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,475 Americans carry the last name Apgar. That puts it at #13,483 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 138,487 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Apgar 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
2.5K
1 in 138,487
Census rank
#13,483
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,158 bearers of the surname Apgar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13483rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Apgar, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Apgar
The surname APGAR has its origins in the German language and can be traced back to the Middle Ages in central Europe. The name is believed to have derived from the German word "Apfelgarten," which translates to "apple orchard" or "apple garden." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname may have been associated with apple cultivation or resided near an apple orchard.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name APGAR can be found in the town records of Nuremberg, Germany, dating back to the late 15th century. These records mention an individual named Hans Apfelgarter, whose surname is a variation of the same root word as APGAR.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the APGAR surname started to appear more frequently in various regions of Germany, particularly in the states of Bavaria and Saxony. Some notable individuals from this period include Johann Apgar (1586-1651), a respected scholar and theologian from Leipzig, and Anna Apgar (1612-1678), a landowner and philanthropist from Nuremberg.
As German immigrants began to settle in North America in the 18th and 19th centuries, the APGAR surname made its way across the Atlantic. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in the United States can be found in the records of the Pennsylvania Dutch community, where several families with the surname APGAR established themselves in the late 1700s.
Notable individuals with the APGAR surname throughout history include:
1. Virginia Apgar (1909-1974), an American obstetrical anesthesiologist who developed the Apgar Score, a method for assessing the health of newborn babies.
2. Frederick Apgar (1818-1901), an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey.
3. William Apgar (1863-1932), an American businessman and inventor who patented several innovations in the field of office supplies.
4. Garry Apgar (born 1958), an American golfer who has competed on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour.
5. Lauren Apgar (born 1986), an American ice hockey player who has represented the United States in several international tournaments.
While the APGAR surname has evolved over the centuries and spread across various regions of the world, it remains rooted in its German origins, serving as a reminder of the rich cultural heritage and history associated with this longstanding family name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Apgar
Among Census respondents with the surname Apgar, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Apgar 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 Apgar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.8% · 1,960
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 83
- Two or more races3.5% · 75
- Black or African American1.3% · 29
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Apgar
Apgar 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
#13,413
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,272
-16 bearers (-0.7%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 970 places
2020
#13,483
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,158
-114 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 70 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,443 | 2,288 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,413 | 2,272 | 0.77 | -16 bearers (-0.7%) | Down 970 places |
| 2020 | #13,483 | 2,158 | 0.72 | -114 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 70 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 Apgar 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 | #13,413 | #13,483 | -0.5% |
| Count | 2,272 | 2,158 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.77 | 0.72 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Apgar bearers went from 2,272 to 2,158 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 70 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,413 to #13,483.
FAQ
Apgar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Apgar?
Name Census estimates that about 2,475 living Americans carry the surname Apgar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 138,487 residents.
How common is Apgar?
Apgar ranks #13,483 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.72 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 2,158 people with the surname Apgar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,475), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.72 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 Apgar.
Has Apgar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Apgar went from 2,272 recorded bearers to 2,158. That is a decrease of 114 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,413 to #13,483.
What does the Census say about the background of Apgar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Apgar, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Apgar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.8% (1,960 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Apgar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.8%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Apgar (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 Apgar mean?
An occupational surname for a person who kept bees or sold honey. 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 Apgar (0.72 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 Apgar?
See how common the surname Apgar is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.