Find out how popular the last name Berber is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Berber.

Berber, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Berber surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Berber in America

Berber is the 18849th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Berber surname appeared 1,451 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Berber.

We can also compare 2010 data for Berber to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Berber

The surname Berber originates from North Africa, particularly in the region that is now modern-day Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. It can be traced back to the 7th century AD, when the Berber people, an ethnic group indigenous to Northwest Africa, were residing in these areas.

The name Berber is derived from the Latin word "barbarus," which was used by the Romans to refer to anyone who was not Greek or Roman. Over time, this term became associated specifically with the Berber people and their language, which is also known as Berber or Amazigh.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Berber can be found in the writings of the 8th-century Arab historian Ibn Khaldun, who extensively documented the history and culture of the Berber people in his famous work, the Muqaddimah.

During the Middle Ages, the Berber people played a significant role in the spread of Islam across North Africa and into parts of Europe. Several notable Berber dynasties, such as the Almoravids and the Almohads, ruled vast territories and left their mark on the region's architecture, literature, and cultural traditions.

One of the most famous Berbers in history was Tariq ibn Ziyad, a Berber military leader who led the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in 711 AD, establishing the beginnings of what would become the Umayyad Caliphate in Al-Andalus (modern-day Spain and Portugal).

Another notable Berber figure was Ibn Battuta, a 14th-century Moroccan explorer and traveler who documented his extensive journeys across Africa, Asia, and Europe in his famous travelogue, the Rihla.

In the 16th century, the Berber leader Ahmed al-Mansur established the Saadian dynasty in Morocco, which played a crucial role in the country's history and cultural development.

Throughout the centuries, various Berber communities have maintained their unique language, customs, and traditions, even as they have interacted and assimilated with other cultures in North Africa and beyond.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Berber

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Berber.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Berber was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Berber has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Berber was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Berber, please contact us.

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