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

Berge, 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 Berge surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Berge in America

Berge is the 9446th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Berge surname appeared 3,444 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Berge.

We can also compare 2010 data for Berge 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 Berge

The surname BERGE has its origins in Germany and the Netherlands, where it first emerged in the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the Old German word "berg", meaning "hill" or "mountain", suggesting that the earliest bearers of this name likely lived near a prominent hill or mountainous region.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the BERGE name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the region of Westphalia, Germany, dating back to the 11th century. This suggests that the name has a long and established history in this part of Europe.

In the Netherlands, the BERGE surname is closely associated with the town of Bergen op Zoom, which translates to "Bergen on the Hill". This town, located in the southern province of Noord-Brabant, has a rich history dating back to the 13th century, and it is likely that many individuals bearing the BERGE name originated from or had ties to this area.

A notable figure in history with the BERGE surname was Johannes Berge, a Dutch scholar and theologian who lived from 1587 to 1658. He was a prominent figure in the Dutch Reformed Church and served as a professor at the University of Leiden.

Another significant individual was Johann Berge, a German composer and organist who lived from 1681 to 1738. He was known for his contributions to the development of the North German Baroque style of organ music.

In the realm of literature, Matthias Claudius (born Matthias Berge, 1740-1815) was a renowned German poet and writer of the Enlightenment period. His works, such as the poem "Der Mond ist aufgegangen" ("The Moon Has Risen"), have become classics in German literature.

The BERGE surname has also been associated with notable figures in the fields of science and exploration. One such example is Friedrich Wilhelm Berge, a German explorer and naturalist who lived from 1827 to 1884. He made significant contributions to the study of flora and fauna in South America, particularly in Brazil and Argentina.

Lastly, Jürgen Berge, born in 1938, is a contemporary German physicist and academic. He has made significant contributions to the field of theoretical physics, particularly in the areas of quantum field theory and particle physics.

These examples demonstrate the diverse and rich history associated with the BERGE surname, spanning various fields and time periods, and reflecting the name's deep roots in German and Dutch culture and society.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Berge

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

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 Berge 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 Berge 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 Berge was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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