2000
#11,382
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,540
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.94
Rare Last name
Beres
A Hungarian surname derived from the word "béres," meaning a farmhand or hired agricultural laborer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,705 Americans carry the last name Beres. That puts it at #12,540 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 126,711 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Beres 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 Beres with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.7K
1 in 126,711
Census rank
#12,540
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,359 bearers of the surname Beres in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12540th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Beres, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Beres
The surname Beres has its origins in Hungary, dating back to the 13th century. It likely derived from the Hungarian word "ber," meaning "hire" or "rent," suggesting that the name may have originally referred to someone who worked as a hired laborer or rented land.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a Hungarian document from the year 1270, which mentions a man named "Beres Mihály." This document suggests that the name was already in use by the late medieval period in Hungary.
In the 15th century, a notable figure with the surname Beres was János Beres, a Hungarian nobleman and landowner who lived from around 1420 to 1490. Records indicate that he owned significant estates in the region of Vas County, which was part of the Kingdom of Hungary at the time.
During the 16th century, the name Beres appeared in various historical records across Central Europe, including in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. One notable individual from this period was Márton Beres, a Hungarian-born Protestant reformer and theologian who lived from 1539 to 1594.
In the 17th century, the name Beres was associated with several prominent figures in Hungary, including István Beres, a Hungarian nobleman and military commander who fought against the Ottoman Empire during the Long Turkish War (1593-1606).
Another significant figure with the surname Beres was András Beres, a Hungarian poet and writer who lived from 1778 to 1842. He is considered one of the pioneers of Hungarian romantic poetry and is remembered for his contributions to the development of the Hungarian literary language.
The name Beres has also been connected to various place names throughout Hungary and Central Europe, such as the village of Beres in Pest County, Hungary, and the town of Beres in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland (formerly part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire).
While the surname Beres has its roots in Hungary, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora communities, with individuals bearing this name found in various countries today.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Beres
Among Census respondents with the surname Beres, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Beres 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 Beres surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 2,181
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 91
- Two or more races2.3% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 16
- Black or African American0.4% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Beres
Beres 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
#11,054
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,876
+336 bearers (+13.2%)
Per 100,000 0.97
Rank movement Up 328 places
2020
#12,540
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,359
-517 bearers (-18.0%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 1,486 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,382 | 2,540 | 0.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,054 | 2,876 | 0.97 | +336 bearers (+13.2%) | Up 328 places |
| 2020 | #12,540 | 2,359 | 0.79 | -517 bearers (-18.0%) | Down 1,486 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 Beres 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 | #11,054 | #12,540 | -13.4% |
| Count | 2,876 | 2,359 | -18.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.97 | 0.79 | -18.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Beres bearers went from 2,876 to 2,359 (-18.0% change). The surname moved down 1,486 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,054 to #12,540.
FAQ
Beres surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Beres?
Name Census estimates that about 2,705 living Americans carry the surname Beres. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 126,711 residents.
How common is Beres?
Beres ranks #12,540 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.79 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 2,359 people with the surname Beres. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,705), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.79 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 Beres.
Has Beres become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Beres went from 2,876 recorded bearers to 2,359. That is a decrease of 517 (-18.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,054 to #12,540.
What does the Census say about the background of Beres?
Among Census respondents with the surname Beres, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) 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 Beres in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (2,181 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Beres appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Hispanic (3.9%), 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 Beres (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 Beres mean?
A Hungarian surname derived from the word "béres," meaning a farmhand or hired agricultural laborer. 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 Beres (0.79 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 last name Beres?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Beres at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.