2000
#2,995
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,078
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.11
Uncommon Last name
Baumgartner
An occupational surname referring to an orchard or tree garden keeper, from German "Baumgarten" meaning "tree garden."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 12,762 Americans carry the last name Baumgartner. That puts it at #3,164 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 26,857 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Baumgartner 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
13K
1 in 26,857
Census rank
#3,164
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,129 bearers of the surname Baumgartner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3164th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Baumgartner, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Baumgartner
The surname Baumgartner originated in Germany and Austria, deriving from the German words "Baum" meaning tree and "Gartner" meaning gardener or orchardist. It was an occupational surname given to those who tended or worked in orchards or gardens.
In the Middle Ages, surnames were often based on a person's occupation, location, or a distinguishing physical characteristic. The earliest recorded instances of the Baumgartner surname can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany and Austria.
One of the earliest known references to the name Baumgartner appears in the Codex Traditionum Monasterii Campilliensis, a 13th-century manuscript from the Archabbey of Campolide in Portugal, which mentions a "Chunradus Baumgartner" in the year 1280.
Another early record of the name can be found in the Stadtbuch von Nürnberg (City Book of Nuremberg), a 14th-century document that lists a "Hanns Baumgartner" as a resident of Nuremberg in 1348.
Notable individuals with the surname Baumgartner include Johann Wolfgang Baumgartner (1711-1761), a German philosopher and author known for his work on aesthetics. Gottlieb Baumgartner (1753-1820) was a German theologian and philosopher who made significant contributions to the field of hermeneutics.
In the 19th century, Andreas Baumgartner (1793-1865) was an Austrian botanist and pharmacist who conducted extensive research on medicinal plants. Karl Heinrich Baumgartner (1798-1886) was a notable Swiss landscape painter known for his depictions of the Swiss Alps.
More recently, Felix Baumgartner (born 1969) is an Austrian skydiver and BASE jumper famous for his record-breaking free fall jump from the stratosphere in 2012, during which he became the first person to break the sound barrier without vehicular power.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Baumgartner
Among Census respondents with the surname Baumgartner, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Baumgartner 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 Baumgartner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 10,343
- Two or more races3.0% · 338
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 287
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 75
- Black or African American0.4% · 48
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 38
Timeline
Historical Census data for Baumgartner
Baumgartner 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
#3,156
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,448
+370 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 3.88
Rank movement Down 161 places
2020
#3,164
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,129
-319 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 3.72
Rank movement Down 8 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,995 | 11,078 | 4.11 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,156 | 11,448 | 3.88 | +370 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 161 places |
| 2020 | #3,164 | 11,129 | 3.72 | -319 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 8 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 Baumgartner 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 | #3,156 | #3,164 | -0.3% |
| Count | 11,448 | 11,129 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 3.88 | 3.72 | -4.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Baumgartner bearers went from 11,448 to 11,129 (-2.8% change). The surname moved down 8 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,156 to #3,164.
FAQ
Baumgartner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Baumgartner?
Name Census estimates that about 12,762 living Americans carry the surname Baumgartner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 26,857 residents.
How common is Baumgartner?
Baumgartner ranks #3,164 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.72 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,129 people with the surname Baumgartner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (12,762), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.72 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Baumgartner.
Has Baumgartner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Baumgartner went from 11,448 recorded bearers to 11,129. That is a decrease of 319 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,156 to #3,164.
What does the Census say about the background of Baumgartner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Baumgartner, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (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 Baumgartner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (10,343 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Baumgartner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Hispanic (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 Baumgartner (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 Baumgartner mean?
An occupational surname referring to an orchard or tree garden keeper, from German "Baumgarten" meaning "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 Baumgartner (3.72 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 share the surname Baumgartner?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.