2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Bambarger
An Americanized form of the German surname Bamberger, referring to a person from Bamberg.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Bambarger. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bambarger 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Bambarger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bambarger, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.7%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bambarger
The surname BAMBARGER is believed to have originated in Germany, with its earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. The name is thought to be derived from the German word "Bambacher," which referred to someone who lived near a stream or brook.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the town records of Bamberg, a city in northern Bavaria, Germany. In 1573, a man named Hans Bambarger was listed as a resident of the city. It is likely that the name evolved from the place name "Bamberg" over time.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the BAMBARGER name began to appear in various regions of Germany, including Saxony, Hesse, and Württemberg. This suggests that families bearing the name may have migrated from the original Bamberg area to other parts of the country.
One notable individual with the BAMBARGER surname was Johann Christoph Bambarger, a German composer and organist who lived from 1719 to 1796. He is known for his contributions to the development of the organ concerto genre.
As German immigrants began to settle in other parts of Europe and the Americas in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the BAMBARGER name spread to new regions. For example, in the United States, William Bambarger (1870-1947), a businessman and philanthropist from Baltimore, Maryland, was a prominent figure in the early 20th century.
Another notable BAMBARGER was the Austrian-American sculptor and artist, Bernhard Bambarger (1884-1955), who is renowned for his public art installations and sculptures adorning various buildings in New York City.
In England, the BAMBARGER name can be traced back to the late 18th century, when records show a family with the name residing in the county of Yorkshire. One member of this family, Robert Bambarger (1801-1879), was a prominent textile merchant and industrialist who played a significant role in the development of the Yorkshire textile industry.
The BAMBARGER surname has also been associated with academic and intellectual pursuits. For instance, Milton Bambarger (1904-1982) was an American philosopher and professor at the University of Southern California, known for his work on ethics and social philosophy.
While the origins of the BAMBARGER name can be traced back to Germany, it has since become a surname found in various parts of the world, with individuals bearing this name making significant contributions across various fields throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bambarger
Among Census respondents with the surname Bambarger, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.7%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Bambarger 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 Bambarger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.6% · 83
- Hispanic or Latino11.7% · 12
- Two or more races4.9% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bambarger
Bambarger 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
-2 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,431 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-17 bearers (-14.2%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 14,954 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.6%) | Down 10,431 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -17 bearers (-14.2%) | Down 14,954 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 Bambarger 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 | #154,182 | -10.7% |
| Count | 120 | 103 | -14.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bambarger bearers went from 120 to 103 (-14.2% change). The surname moved down 14,954 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #154,182.
FAQ
Bambarger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bambarger?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Bambarger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Bambarger?
Bambarger ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 103 people with the surname Bambarger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Bambarger.
Has Bambarger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bambarger went from 120 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 17 (-14.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Bambarger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bambarger, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.7%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Bambarger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.6% (83 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bambarger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.6%), Hispanic (11.7%), Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Bambarger (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 Bambarger mean?
An Americanized form of the German surname Bamberger, referring to a person from Bamberg. 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 Bambarger (0.03 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 Bambarger?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Bambarger at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.