2000
#12,238
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,334
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.87
Rare Last name
Barge
An occupational surname referring to a person who operates or works on a flat-bottomed boat for carrying freight.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,488 Americans carry the last name Barge. That puts it at #13,411 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 137,763 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Barge 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Barge with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 137,763
Census rank
#13,411
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,170 bearers of the surname Barge in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13411th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Barge, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.4%. The next largest groups are Black (31.9%) and Hispanic (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Barge
The surname Barge has its origins in France, where it first emerged in the 12th century. It is derived from the Old French word "barge," which referred to a type of flat-bottomed boat or barge. This suggests that the name initially designated someone who worked as a bargeman or operated a barge for transporting goods and people along rivers and canals.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Barge can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a landowner named Radulfus Barge in Lincolnshire, England. This indicates that the surname had already been established in parts of Normandy by the 11th century before being introduced to England after the Norman Conquest.
During the Middle Ages, the Barge family spread across various regions of France, including Normandy, Brittany, and Languedoc. In England, the name was particularly prevalent in counties such as Lincolnshire, Warwickshire, and Staffordshire, where rivers and waterways played a significant role in transportation and trade.
One notable figure bearing the Barge surname was Sir Henry Barge (1585-1658), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Warwickshire during the reign of King Charles I. Another prominent individual was Guillaume Barge (1592-1674), a French Benedictine monk and scholar who authored several works on theology and philosophy.
In the 17th century, the Barge family had established itself in the American colonies, with records indicating the presence of individuals like John Barge (c. 1620-1686), who settled in Virginia and served as a justice of the peace. Another early American bearer of the name was William Barge (c. 1650-1715), a landowner and farmer in Westmoreland County, Virginia.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the surname Barge continued to be documented across various parts of Europe and North America. Notable figures from this period include Jacques Barge (1768-1842), a French politician and lawyer who served as a deputy in the National Convention during the French Revolution, and Joseph Barge (1816-1892), an American businessman and entrepreneur who founded the Barge Brewing Company in Ohio.
While the surname Barge has its roots in France and England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, with bearers of the name found in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. However, its origins can be traced back to the medieval period, when it first emerged as an occupational surname related to the transportation of goods and people by barge.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Barge
Among Census respondents with the surname Barge, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.4%. The next largest groups are Black (31.9%) and Hispanic (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Barge 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 Barge surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.4% · 1,223
- Black or African American31.9% · 692
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 95
- Two or more races4.0% · 86
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.2% · 70
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Barge
Barge 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
#12,607
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,455
+121 bearers (+5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Down 369 places
2020
#13,411
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,170
-285 bearers (-11.6%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 804 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,238 | 2,334 | 0.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,607 | 2,455 | 0.83 | +121 bearers (+5.2%) | Down 369 places |
| 2020 | #13,411 | 2,170 | 0.73 | -285 bearers (-11.6%) | Down 804 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 Barge 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 | #12,607 | #13,411 | -6.4% |
| Count | 2,455 | 2,170 | -11.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.83 | 0.73 | -12.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Barge bearers went from 2,455 to 2,170 (-11.6% change). The surname moved down 804 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,607 to #13,411.
FAQ
Barge surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Barge?
Name Census estimates that about 2,488 living Americans carry the surname Barge. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 137,763 residents.
How common is Barge?
Barge ranks #13,411 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 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 2,170 people with the surname Barge. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,488), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 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 Barge.
Has Barge become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Barge went from 2,455 recorded bearers to 2,170. That is a decrease of 285 (-11.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,607 to #13,411.
What does the Census say about the background of Barge?
Among Census respondents with the surname Barge, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.4%. The next largest groups are Black (31.9%) and Hispanic (4.4%). 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 Barge in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.4% (1,223 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Barge appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (56.4%), Black (31.9%), Hispanic (4.4%). 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 Barge (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 Barge mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who operates or works on a flat-bottomed boat for carrying freight. 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 Barge (0.73 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 Barge?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Barge is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.