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

Berger, 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 Berger surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Berger in America

Berger is the 785th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Berger surname appeared 43,851 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 15 people would have the surname Berger.

We can also compare 2010 data for Berger 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 Berger

The surname "Berger" originated in Germany and Switzerland, and it has been around since the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the German word "Berg," which means "mountain" or "hill," and the suffix "-er," which indicates an occupation or a person's place of origin. Therefore, "Berger" likely referred to someone who lived on or near a mountain or hill, or someone whose occupation was related to mountains or hills, such as a shepherd or a miner.

The earliest recorded examples of the name can be found in medieval German documents and records. For instance, the name "Berger" appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Quedlinburgensis, a collection of charters and documents from the Quedlinburg Abbey in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, dating back to the 10th century.

In Switzerland, the name "Berger" can be traced back to the 13th century. One notable Swiss Berger was Johannes Berger, a prominent cleric and theologian who lived in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. He served as the Bishop of Constance from 1418 to 1433.

In England, the name "Berger" is believed to have arrived with German and Swiss immigrants in the 16th and 17th centuries. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in England is that of Hans Berger, a German-born musician and composer who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He served as a lutenist and composer at the court of King James I.

Another famous person with the surname "Berger" was the German painter and printmaker Hans Sebald Beham (1500-1550), who was also known as Hans Sebald Berger. He was a prominent figure in the German Renaissance and is known for his intricate engravings and woodcuts.

In the 19th century, the German philosopher and psychologist Hans Berger (1873-1941) made significant contributions to the field of neuroscience. He is best known for his discovery of the electrical activity of the human brain, which he called the "Berger rhythm" or the "alpha wave."

The surname "Berger" has also been associated with various place names throughout Europe, such as Bergerhuizen in the Netherlands, Bergershausen in Germany, and Bergerac in France. These place names often reflect the presence of mountains or hills in the area, further reinforcing the connection between the name "Berger" and its geographical origins.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Berger

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

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

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

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