2000
#124,872
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Bers
An occupational surname referring to a person involved in the production of berries.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Bers. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bers 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Bers in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bers, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bers
The surname "BERS" is believed to have originated in Germany, likely in the 14th or 15th century. It is thought to be derived from the German word "Berr" or "Ber," which was a nickname for someone who was considered fierce or bear-like in their manner or appearance.
Records from the German states of Bavaria and Saxony show some of the earliest instances of the surname. For example, the name "Hans Bers" appears in a record from the town of Nuremberg in 1427. There are also references to a family called "die Bersen" in documents from Leipzig dating back to the late 15th century.
The surname eventually spread to other parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and Scandinavia. In the Dutch language, the name was sometimes spelled as "Beers" or "Beerse." In Denmark and Sweden, it took on the form "Björn" or "Bjørn," which is derived from the Old Norse word for bear.
One notable early bearer of the surname was Johannes Bers, a German scholar and theologian who lived from 1475 to 1544. He was a professor at the University of Wittenberg and a close associate of Martin Luther during the Protestant Reformation.
Another historical figure with the name was Hans Bers, a German artist and engraver who lived from around 1550 to 1610. He is best known for his intricate etchings and woodcuts depicting landscapes and scenes from daily life.
In the 17th century, the name appears in records from the British Isles, likely brought by German or Dutch immigrants. One such example is John Bers, an English merchant and landowner who was born in 1629 and owned property in the county of Gloucestershire.
The 19th century saw the rise of a prominent family of industrialists with the surname Bers in the United States. Jacob Bers, who was born in Germany in 1812 and emigrated to America in the 1840s, founded a successful textile manufacturing company in Pennsylvania. His sons and grandsons continued to run the family business well into the 20th century.
Another notable bearer of the name was August Bers, a German-American mathematician who lived from 1906 to 1977. He made significant contributions to the fields of partial differential equations and complex analysis and was a professor at Syracuse University and New York University.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bers
Among Census respondents with the surname Bers, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Bers 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 Bers surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.2% · 95
- Hispanic or Latino14.5% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bers
Bers 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
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-23 bearers (-18.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 31,172 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+13 bearers (+12.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 11,774 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #124,872 | 127 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | -23 bearers (-18.1%) | Down 31,172 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | +13 bearers (+12.5%) | Up 11,774 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 Bers 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 | #156,044 | #144,270 | 7.5% |
| Count | 104 | 117 | 12.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bers bearers went from 104 to 117 (+12.5% change). The surname moved up 11,774 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #144,270.
FAQ
Bers surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bers?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Bers. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Bers?
Bers ranks #144,270 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 117 people with the surname Bers. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), 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 Bers.
Has Bers become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bers went from 104 recorded bearers to 117. That is an increase of 13 (+12.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Bers?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bers, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (4.3%). 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 Bers in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.2% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bers appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.2%), Hispanic (14.5%), American Indian/Alaska Native (4.3%). 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 Bers (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 Bers mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person involved in the production of berries. 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 Bers (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 people have the surname Bers?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.