2000
#115,489
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 140
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Bertus
From the Germanic personal name derived from "bright renown".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Bertus. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bertus 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Bertus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bertus, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.0%. The next largest groups are Black (11.0%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bertus
The surname BERTUS is believed to have originated in the Frisian region of the Netherlands during the 12th century. It is derived from the Germanic personal name Bertus, which is a shortened form of names beginning with the element "berhta" meaning "bright" or "shining." The earliest recorded spelling of the name is found in the Codex Diplomaticus Neerlandicus, a collection of medieval Dutch charters and records, dated around 1180.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname BERTUS was Bertus van Friesland, a Frisian nobleman who lived in the late 13th century. He was mentioned in the Annales Egmundani, a medieval chronicle written by a monk of Egmond Abbey, for his role in a local conflict between the Frisians and the Count of Holland.
In the 14th century, the surname BERTUS appeared in various Dutch municipal records, including tax rolls and guild registers. Notable individuals from this period include Bertus de Bakker (c. 1330-1395), a master baker in the city of Utrecht, and Bertus van Delft (c. 1370-1435), a renowned painter from the town of Delft.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the BERTUS name spread beyond the Netherlands as Dutch settlers and traders established colonies and trading posts around the world. One notable bearer of the name was Bertus Jansz (1570-1625), a Dutch navigator and explorer who led several voyages to the East Indies and is credited with discovering the Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean.
In the 18th century, Bertus Blok (1725-1795) was a Dutch patriot and politician who played a prominent role in the Dutch Patriot Revolution, a movement aimed at reforming the Dutch Republic's political system.
Another notable figure with the BERTUS surname was Bertus Slicher van Bath (1913-2004), a Dutch historian and professor who made significant contributions to the study of rural history and agricultural economics in the Netherlands.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bertus
Among Census respondents with the surname Bertus, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.0%. The next largest groups are Black (11.0%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Bertus 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 Bertus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.0% · 85
- Black or African American11.0% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.8% · 3
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bertus
Bertus 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
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-26 bearers (-18.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 29,731 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-5 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,985 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #115,489 | 140 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | -26 bearers (-18.6%) | Down 29,731 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 4,985 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 Bertus 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 | #145,220 | #150,205 | -3.4% |
| Count | 114 | 109 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bertus bearers went from 114 to 109 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 4,985 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #150,205.
FAQ
Bertus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bertus?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Bertus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Bertus?
Bertus ranks #150,205 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 109 people with the surname Bertus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), 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 Bertus.
Has Bertus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bertus went from 114 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #145,220 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Bertus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bertus, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.0%. The next largest groups are Black (11.0%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Bertus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.0% (85 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bertus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.0%), Black (11.0%), Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Bertus (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 Bertus mean?
From the Germanic personal name derived from "bright renown". 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 Bertus (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 common is the surname Bertus?
See how many people have the surname Bertus on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.