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

Bernfeld, 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 Bernfeld surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bernfeld in America

Bernfeld is the 55962nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bernfeld surname appeared 366 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Bernfeld.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bernfeld 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 Bernfeld

The surname BERNFELD originated in the German-speaking regions of Europe during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old High German words "bero" meaning bear and "feld" meaning field, suggesting an early association with a bear-inhabited field or meadow.

One of the earliest records of the name BERNFELD can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval manuscripts from the 12th century, where a landowner named Bernhart von Bernfeld is mentioned. This suggests the name may have originated as a locative surname, referring to a specific place or estate.

In the 13th century, the spelling variations Bernfelt and Bernfeldt emerged in various regions of Germany and Austria. During this time, the name was also associated with the town of Bernfeld in Bavaria, which may have contributed to its spread.

Notable individuals bearing the BERNFELD surname include Johann Bernfeld, a 16th-century Lutheran theologian from Saxony (1515-1567), and Hans Bernfeld, a 17th-century merchant and landowner from Nuremberg (1629-1701).

In the 18th century, the BERNFELD name gained prominence with the birth of Sigmund Bernfeld (1774-1846), a German philosopher and author who wrote extensively on ethics and morality.

Another notable figure was Maria Bernfeld (1892-1949), an Austrian psychoanalyst and educator who worked closely with Sigmund Freud and made significant contributions to the field of child psychology.

More recently, in the 20th century, Steven Bernfeld (1923-2001) was a renowned American physicist who made groundbreaking discoveries in the field of quantum mechanics.

Throughout its history, the BERNFELD surname has maintained a strong presence in German-speaking regions, while also spreading to other parts of Europe and eventually to North America through emigration.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bernfeld

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

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

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

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