2000
#8,185
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,728
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.38
Rare Last name
Bechtold
Derived from a German personal name composed of the elements berht, meaning "bright," and wald, meaning "ruler."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,156 Americans carry the last name Bechtold. That puts it at #8,692 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 82,472 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bechtold 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
4.2K
1 in 82,472
Census rank
#8,692
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,624 bearers of the surname Bechtold in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8692nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bechtold, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bechtold
The surname Bechtold is of German origin, with its roots traced back to the Middle Ages. The name is believed to have originated from the German personal name "Becht," which is a shortened form of the name "Berthold" or "Bertold." This name itself is derived from the Old German words "beraht," meaning "bright" or "shining," and "waldan," meaning "to rule" or "to govern."
The earliest recorded instances of the name Bechtold can be found in various historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries in regions of present-day Germany. Some of these records include mentions of individuals such as Johannes Bechtold, a landowner from the town of Mainz in the late 13th century, and Heinrich Bechtold, a merchant from the city of Nuremberg in the mid-14th century.
One notable historical reference to the name Bechtold can be found in the "Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis," a collection of medieval documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg. This collection includes a charter from the year 1375, which mentions a certain "Conradus Bechtold" as a witness to a land transaction.
During the late Middle Ages and early modern period, the Bechtold name continued to spread across various regions of Germany, and variations of the spelling emerged, such as "Bechtholdt," "Bechtholt," and "Bechthold." In the 16th century, a prominent figure bearing this name was Johann Bechtold (1516-1593), a Lutheran theologian and reformer from the city of Erfurt.
As the centuries progressed, the Bechtold name also gained recognition in other parts of Europe. In the 18th century, Johann Michael Bechtold (1732-1813) was a notable astronomer and mathematician from the town of Ellwangen, in present-day Baden-Württemberg, Germany. He made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and the calculation of planetary orbits.
Another individual of note was Franz Bechtold (1753-1827), an Austrian architect and sculptor who was renowned for his work on various churches and public buildings in the city of Vienna during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
In the 19th century, the Bechtold name gained further prominence with individuals such as Karl Bechtold (1801-1876), a German landscape painter and etcher who was a member of the Düsseldorf School of Painting, and Max Bechtold (1854-1943), a German composer and music theorist who taught at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Leipzig.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bechtold
Among Census respondents with the surname Bechtold, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Bechtold 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 Bechtold surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 3,317
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 127
- Two or more races3.1% · 114
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 17
- Black or African American0.4% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bechtold
Bechtold 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
#8,854
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,700
-28 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 1.25
Rank movement Down 669 places
2020
#8,692
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,624
-76 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 1.21
Rank movement Up 162 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,185 | 3,728 | 1.38 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,854 | 3,700 | 1.25 | -28 bearers (-0.8%) | Down 669 places |
| 2020 | #8,692 | 3,624 | 1.21 | -76 bearers (-2.1%) | Up 162 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 Bechtold 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 | #8,854 | #8,692 | 1.8% |
| Count | 3,700 | 3,624 | -2.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.25 | 1.21 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bechtold bearers went from 3,700 to 3,624 (-2.1% change). The surname moved up 162 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,854 to #8,692.
FAQ
Bechtold surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bechtold?
Name Census estimates that about 4,156 living Americans carry the surname Bechtold. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 82,472 residents.
How common is Bechtold?
Bechtold ranks #8,692 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.21 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 3,624 people with the surname Bechtold. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,156), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.21 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 Bechtold.
Has Bechtold become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bechtold went from 3,700 recorded bearers to 3,624. That is a decrease of 76 (-2.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,854 to #8,692.
What does the Census say about the background of Bechtold?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bechtold, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Bechtold in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (3,317 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bechtold appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.5%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Bechtold (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 Bechtold mean?
Derived from a German personal name composed of the elements berht, meaning "bright," and wald, meaning "ruler." 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 Bechtold (1.21 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 Bechtold?
Want to know how common the surname Bechtold is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.