Find out how popular the last name Bang is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Bang.

Bang, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Bang surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bang in America

Bang is the 7153rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bang surname appeared 4,676 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Bang.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bang to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Bang

The surname Bang is of Danish origin, and it is believed to have originated in the 16th century. The name is derived from the Danish word "bang," which means "a lump" or "a swelling." It is thought to have been originally a descriptive nickname given to someone with a distinctive physical feature, such as a protruding forehead or a bulging eye.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Bang can be found in the Danish Census Records of 1660, where a person named Hans Bang is listed as a resident of Copenhagen. The name also appears in various church records and parish registers from the 17th and 18th centuries in various parts of Denmark.

In the 19th century, the surname Bang was particularly prevalent in the regions of Jutland and Zealand in Denmark. Some notable individuals with this surname from this period include the Danish botanist Niels Bang (1776-1834), who made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy, and the Danish sculptor Jens Adolf Bang (1789-1877), whose works can be found in several museums and public spaces across Denmark.

The surname Bang has also been found in historical records from other parts of Europe, particularly in Germany and Norway. In Germany, there are records of individuals with the surname Bang dating back to the 17th century, possibly indicating that the name may have spread from Denmark to other parts of Northern Europe.

Another notable individual with the surname Bang was the Norwegian physicist Olaus Bang (1621-1691), who made important contributions to the field of optics and is credited with the discovery of the phenomenon known as the "Barfus Bang Lens."

As the surname Bang spread to other parts of the world through migration and immigration, it has been associated with several notable individuals. For example, Herman Bang (1857-1912) was a Danish novelist and playwright who was a prominent figure in the literary movement known as Naturalism. Jørgen Bang-Jensen (1920-2014) was a Danish mathematician and computer scientist who made significant contributions to the field of graph theory.

It is important to note that while the surname Bang has its roots in Denmark and has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history, it has also been adopted and used by people of various ethnic and cultural backgrounds around the world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bang

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Bang.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Bang was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Bang has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Bang was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Bang, please contact us.

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