2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Bargenquast
A German surname derived from toponymic elements meaning "dweller near the steep hillside".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Bargenquast. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bargenquast 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Bargenquast in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bargenquast, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Black (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bargenquast
The surname BARGENQUAST has its origins in the northern German state of Lower Saxony, dating back to the early 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old Low German words "barg" meaning "hill" or "elevated land" and "quast" meaning "branch" or "twig," suggesting that the name may have originally referred to a person who lived near a wooded hill or a settlement surrounded by wooded hills.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the church records of the town of Hitzacker, located along the Elbe River, where a certain Hans BARGENQUAST is mentioned in an entry from 1527. This suggests that the name was already in use in the region during the late medieval period.
In the 17th century, the BARGENQUAST family seems to have spread to various parts of northern Germany, with records showing individuals bearing this name in the cities of Hamburg and Lübeck, as well as in the Duchy of Holstein. A notable figure from this time was Johann BARGENQUAST (1624-1701), a merchant and alderman in the city of Lübeck.
As the name spread further across Germany in the 18th and 19th centuries, variations in spelling began to appear, such as BARGENQUAST, BARGENQUAST, and BARGENQUAST. One prominent individual from this era was August BARGENQUAST (1784-1864), a professor of law at the University of Göttingen and a renowned legal scholar.
In the 19th century, the BARGENQUAST name also made its way to the United States, with immigrants from Germany settling in various parts of the country. One of the earliest recorded BARGENQUAST in America was Wilhelm BARGENQUAST (1812-1887), who settled in Wisconsin and became a successful farmer.
Another notable individual bearing this surname was Karl BARGENQUAST (1856-1932), a German-American educator and author who served as the president of the University of Dubuque in Iowa from 1898 to 1921.
While the BARGENQUAST name is relatively uncommon today, it continues to be found in various parts of Germany, particularly in the northern regions, as well as in communities with German heritage in the United States and other countries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bargenquast
Among Census respondents with the surname Bargenquast, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Black (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Bargenquast 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 Bargenquast surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.7% · 105
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 6
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bargenquast
Bargenquast 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
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-6 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,358 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+7 bearers (+6.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 5,125 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 15,358 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.4%) | Up 5,125 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 Bargenquast 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 | #149,395 | #144,270 | 3.4% |
| Count | 110 | 117 | 6.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bargenquast bearers went from 110 to 117 (+6.4% change). The surname moved up 5,125 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #144,270.
FAQ
Bargenquast surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bargenquast?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Bargenquast. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Bargenquast?
Bargenquast ranks #144,270 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 117 people with the surname Bargenquast. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), 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 Bargenquast.
Has Bargenquast become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bargenquast went from 110 recorded bearers to 117. That is an increase of 7 (+6.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #149,395 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Bargenquast?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bargenquast, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Black (1.7%). 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 Bargenquast in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bargenquast appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.7%), Hispanic (5.1%), Black (1.7%). 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 Bargenquast (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 Bargenquast mean?
A German surname derived from toponymic elements meaning "dweller near the steep hillside". 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 Bargenquast (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 many people are called Bargenquast?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Bargenquast at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.