2000
#2,322
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,283
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.29
Uncommon Last name
Barth
Derived from a variation of the German surname Bart, referring to someone with a beard.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,513 Americans carry the last name Barth. That puts it at #2,605 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.53 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 22,095 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Barth 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 Barth with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
16K
1 in 22,095
Census rank
#2,605
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,528 bearers of the surname Barth in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.53 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2605th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Barth, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Barth
The surname Barth originated in Germany, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the Germanic word "bardo," meaning "axe" or "halberd." This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational name for someone who made or wielded axes or halberds.
In the 11th century, the name Barth appeared in records from the Duchy of Swabia, a medieval duchy that covered present-day southwestern Germany and parts of Switzerland. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Rudiger Barth, a knight mentioned in a chronicle from the year 1087.
The Barth name can also be traced back to various German placenames, such as Barth, a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Barthen, a village in Saxony-Anhalt. These place names likely originated from the same Germanic root word "bardo."
In the 13th century, the Barth surname appeared in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents from the region of Mecklenburg. This suggests that the name had spread to northern Germany by this time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Barth name in England can be found in the Norfolk Pipe Rolls of 1275, which mention a certain Johannes Barth. This indicates that the name had begun to spread beyond Germany by the late Middle Ages.
Notable individuals with the surname Barth throughout history include:
1. Jakob Barth (1600-1686), a German theologian and philosopher.
2. Caspar von Barth (1587-1658), a German diplomat and writer.
3. Christian Gerhard Barth (1768-1838), a German jurist and statesman.
4. Karl Heinrich Barth (1847-1922), a German theologian and father of the influential Swiss theologian Karl Barth.
5. Karl Barth (1886-1968), a Swiss Reformed theologian and one of the most influential Christian thinkers of the 20th century.
The Barth surname has a rich history rooted in medieval Germany and has since spread to various parts of Europe and beyond. Its origins as an occupational name and its connections to various German place names reflect the diverse linguistic and cultural influences that have shaped this surname over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Barth
Among Census respondents with the surname Barth, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Barth 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 Barth surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 12,567
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 407
- Two or more races2.6% · 348
- Black or African American0.7% · 100
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 79
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 27
Timeline
Historical Census data for Barth
Barth 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
#2,474
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,579
+296 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 4.94
Rank movement Down 152 places
2020
#2,605
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,528
-1,051 bearers (-7.2%)
Per 100,000 4.53
Rank movement Down 131 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,322 | 14,283 | 5.29 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,474 | 14,579 | 4.94 | +296 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 152 places |
| 2020 | #2,605 | 13,528 | 4.53 | -1,051 bearers (-7.2%) | Down 131 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 Barth 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 | #2,474 | #2,605 | -5.3% |
| Count | 14,579 | 13,528 | -7.2% |
| Per 100K | 4.94 | 4.53 | -8.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Barth bearers went from 14,579 to 13,528 (-7.2% change). The surname moved down 131 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,474 to #2,605.
FAQ
Barth surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Barth?
Name Census estimates that about 15,513 living Americans carry the surname Barth. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 22,095 residents.
How common is Barth?
Barth ranks #2,605 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.53 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,528 people with the surname Barth. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,513), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.53 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.53 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Barth.
Has Barth become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Barth went from 14,579 recorded bearers to 13,528. That is a decrease of 1,051 (-7.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,474 to #2,605.
What does the Census say about the background of Barth?
Among Census respondents with the surname Barth, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Barth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (12,567 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Barth appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Hispanic (3.0%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Barth (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 Barth mean?
Derived from a variation of the German surname Bart, referring to someone with a beard. 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 Barth (4.53 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 Barth?
Find out how many people are called Barth on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.