2000
#11,986
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,391
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.89
Rare Last name
Baumgarten
An occupational surname referring to someone who lived near or worked in an orchard or tree garden.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,760 Americans carry the last name Baumgarten. That puts it at #12,332 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 124,186 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Baumgarten 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
2.8K
1 in 124,186
Census rank
#12,332
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,407 bearers of the surname Baumgarten in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12332nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Baumgarten, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Baumgarten
The surname Baumgarten is of German origin, derived from the words 'Baum' meaning 'tree' and 'Garten' meaning 'garden' or 'orchard'. It is believed to have originated as a topographic name for someone who lived near a tree garden or orchard.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany. In 1295, a record from Würzburg mentions a Johannes Baumgarten, while another document from Heidelberg in 1337 references a Heinricus Baumgarten.
During the Middle Ages, the name Baumgarten was also found in various spellings such as Bawmgarten, Baumgarthen, and Baumgartten, reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and writing. Some of these variations were likely influenced by the local dialect or the scribe's interpretation.
In the 16th century, the name appears in several historical records, including the tax rolls of the city of Nuremberg, where a merchant named Hans Baumgarten was listed in 1542. Around the same time, a scholar and humanist named Joachim Baumgarten (1506-1561) gained recognition for his contributions to education and theology.
As the name spread across different regions of Germany, it became associated with various notable individuals throughout history. For instance, Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1714-1762) was a German philosopher and academic who is credited with establishing aesthetics as a distinct field of study.
Another prominent figure was Michael Baumgarten (1812-1889), a German theologian and church historian who served as a professor at the University of Rostock. In the 20th century, Hans Baumgarten (1904-1963) was a German writer and journalist known for his work in the field of travel literature.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name outside of Germany can be found in the Netherlands, where a certain Wilhelmus Baumgarten was mentioned in a document from Utrecht in 1492. This suggests that the name had already begun to spread beyond its original German roots by the late 15th century.
Overall, the surname Baumgarten has a rich history that can be traced back to medieval Germany, where it originated as a descriptive name for those living near tree gardens or orchards. Over the centuries, it has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including merchants, scholars, theologians, and writers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Baumgarten
Among Census respondents with the surname Baumgarten, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Baumgarten 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 Baumgarten surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.9% · 2,259
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 65
- Two or more races2.3% · 56
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 11
- Black or African American0.4% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Baumgarten
Baumgarten 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
#12,652
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,445
+54 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Down 666 places
2020
#12,332
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,407
-38 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Up 320 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,986 | 2,391 | 0.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,652 | 2,445 | 0.83 | +54 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 666 places |
| 2020 | #12,332 | 2,407 | 0.81 | -38 bearers (-1.6%) | Up 320 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 Baumgarten 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 | #12,652 | #12,332 | 2.5% |
| Count | 2,445 | 2,407 | -1.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.83 | 0.81 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Baumgarten bearers went from 2,445 to 2,407 (-1.6% change). The surname moved up 320 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,652 to #12,332.
FAQ
Baumgarten surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Baumgarten?
Name Census estimates that about 2,760 living Americans carry the surname Baumgarten. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 124,186 residents.
How common is Baumgarten?
Baumgarten ranks #12,332 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.81 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 2,407 people with the surname Baumgarten. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,760), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.81 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 Baumgarten.
Has Baumgarten become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Baumgarten went from 2,445 recorded bearers to 2,407. That is a decrease of 38 (-1.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,652 to #12,332.
What does the Census say about the background of Baumgarten?
Among Census respondents with the surname Baumgarten, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Baumgarten in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (2,259 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Baumgarten appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.9%), Hispanic (2.7%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Baumgarten (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 Baumgarten mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who lived near or worked in an orchard or tree garden. 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 Baumgarten (0.81 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 have the surname Baumgarten?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.