2000
#5,139
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,267
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.32
Rare Last name
Berndt
A German surname derived from the personal name Bernhard, meaning "brave bear" or "strong bear."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,582 Americans carry the last name Berndt. That puts it at #5,806 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.92 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 52,074 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Berndt 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
6.6K
1 in 52,074
Census rank
#5,806
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,740 bearers of the surname Berndt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.92 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5806th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Berndt, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Berndt
The surname Berndt originated in Germany and can be traced back to the early 14th century. It is a patronymic name derived from the Germanic personal name Bernhard, which means "brave bear." The name Berndt is a variation of the more common spelling Bernhard and was likely introduced as a shortened form of the original name.
In medieval Germany, surnames were often adopted to distinguish individuals from others with the same given name. The name Berndt was particularly prevalent in the northern regions of Germany, such as Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Berndt can be found in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the city of Bremen, dated 1350. This document mentions a certain "Henricus Berndes," suggesting that the name was already in use by that time.
The Berndt name also appears in various other historical records, including the Sachsenspiegel, a medieval legal code from the 13th century, and the Stadtbücher, which were city registers kept in various German towns.
Notable individuals with the surname Berndt throughout history include:
1. Johannes Berndt (1592-1655), a German mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of optics.
2. Ernst Wilhelm Berndt (1638-1715), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister at the court of Saxony-Weimar.
3. Paul Berndt (1808-1877), a German landscape painter known for his depictions of the Harz Mountains region.
4. Gustav Berndt (1863-1940), a German archaeologist who conducted extensive excavations in the Middle East, including at the site of Babylon.
5. Hermann Berndt (1876-1935), a German engineer and inventor who developed the first successful diesel locomotive.
The name Berndt has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Berndtshagen, a village in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Berndtsmühle, a mill located near the city of Hildesheim in Lower Saxony. These place names likely originated from individuals bearing the surname Berndt who were associated with those locations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Berndt
Among Census respondents with the surname Berndt, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Berndt 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 Berndt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.7% · 5,379
- Two or more races2.7% · 154
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 138
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 33
- Black or African American0.3% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Berndt
Berndt 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
#5,700
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,081
-186 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 2.06
Rank movement Down 561 places
2020
#5,806
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,740
-341 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 1.92
Rank movement Down 106 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,139 | 6,267 | 2.32 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,700 | 6,081 | 2.06 | -186 bearers (-3.0%) | Down 561 places |
| 2020 | #5,806 | 5,740 | 1.92 | -341 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 106 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 Berndt 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 | #5,700 | #5,806 | -1.9% |
| Count | 6,081 | 5,740 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.06 | 1.92 | -6.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Berndt bearers went from 6,081 to 5,740 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 106 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,700 to #5,806.
FAQ
Berndt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Berndt?
Name Census estimates that about 6,582 living Americans carry the surname Berndt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 52,074 residents.
How common is Berndt?
Berndt ranks #5,806 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.92 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,740 people with the surname Berndt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,582), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.92 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.92 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Berndt.
Has Berndt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Berndt went from 6,081 recorded bearers to 5,740. That is a decrease of 341 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,700 to #5,806.
What does the Census say about the background of Berndt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Berndt, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Berndt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.7% (5,379 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Berndt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.7%), Two or More Races (2.7%), Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Berndt (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 Berndt mean?
A German surname derived from the personal name Bernhard, meaning "brave bear" or "strong bear." 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 Berndt (1.92 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 are called Berndt?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Berndt on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.