2000
#119,644
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 134
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Bergreen
A surname possibly derived from the German term for "mountain green."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Bergreen. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bergreen 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Bergreen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bergreen, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Black (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bergreen
The surname Bergreen is believed to have originated in Sweden during the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the Swedish words "berg" meaning "hill" or "mountain" and "gren" meaning "branch" or "twig". The name likely referred to someone who lived near a wooded hill or mountain.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bergreen can be found in the parish records of Dalarna, Sweden, dating back to the late 1500s. It is also mentioned in the Swedish census records of the 1600s, with various spellings such as Berggren, Berggrin, and Bergrin.
In the 17th century, the Bergreen surname began to appear in other parts of Scandinavia, including Norway and Denmark. This was likely due to migration and the spread of the name through trade and travel.
One notable individual with the surname Bergreen was Johan Bergreen, a Swedish explorer and cartographer born in 1672. He was known for his detailed maps of the Arctic regions and his expeditions to Svalbard and Greenland.
Another prominent figure was Anna Bergreen, a Swedish writer and feminist born in 1819. She was an advocate for women's rights and education, and her works helped to raise awareness of the struggles faced by women in Sweden during that time.
In the 19th century, the Bergreen surname began to appear in North America as Swedish and Scandinavian immigrants settled in various parts of the United States and Canada. One such individual was Carl Bergreen, a Swedish-American author and journalist born in 1872 in Minnesota.
Another notable person with the surname was Olof Bergreen, a Swedish-American politician born in 1884 in Illinois. He served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives and was known for his advocacy of workers' rights and labor reform.
In more recent times, the surname Bergreen has been associated with several authors and writers, including Lawrence Bergreen, an American biographer and historian born in 1944, and Audrey Bergreen, a Canadian novelist and playwright born in 1957.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bergreen
Among Census respondents with the surname Bergreen, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Black (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Bergreen 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 Bergreen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 104
- Two or more races3.5% · 4
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bergreen
Bergreen 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
#123,796
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 139
+5 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 4,152 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-24 bearers (-17.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 21,961 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #119,644 | 134 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #123,796 | 139 | 0.05 | +5 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 4,152 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -24 bearers (-17.3%) | Down 21,961 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 Bergreen 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 | #123,796 | #145,757 | -17.7% |
| Count | 139 | 115 | -17.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -23.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bergreen bearers went from 139 to 115 (-17.3% change). The surname moved down 21,961 positions in the national ranking, going from #123,796 to #145,757.
FAQ
Bergreen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bergreen?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Bergreen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Bergreen?
Bergreen ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 115 people with the surname Bergreen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Bergreen.
Has Bergreen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bergreen went from 139 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 24 (-17.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #123,796 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Bergreen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bergreen, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Black (1.7%). 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 Bergreen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bergreen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.4%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Black (1.7%). 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 Bergreen (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 Bergreen mean?
A surname possibly derived from the German term for "mountain green." 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 Bergreen (0.04 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 Americans have the surname Bergreen?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.