2000
#130,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Bethge
A German surname derived from the Low German word "bedde" meaning "bed".
According to the 2010 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 137 Americans carry the last name Bethge. That puts it at #154,907 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,501,856 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bethge 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.
Bethge appeared in the 2010 Census surname file but was not included in the published 2020 file. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames with at least 100 recorded bearers, so this usually means the name fell below that threshold.
Bearers in the US
137
1 in 2,501,856
Census rank
#154,907
2010 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
105
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 105 bearers of the surname Bethge in its 2010 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154907th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bethge, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bethge
The surname Bethge is of German origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Old High German word "betti," which means "bed," and the suffix "-ge," which indicates a place or location. Therefore, the name Bethge likely referred to someone who lived near a bed or a place associated with beds.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bethge can be found in the town records of Saxony, Germany, dating back to the 14th century. These records mention a family named Bethge residing in the village of Großenhain.
In the 16th century, the name appeared in the tax records of the city of Dresden, where a merchant named Hans Bethge was listed as a citizen and taxpayer. This suggests that the Bethge family had established itself in the region and held a respectable position within the community.
The Bethge surname also has connections to the town of Meißen, a historic city in Saxony known for its porcelain production. In the 17th century, a potter named Johann Bethge was renowned for his exceptional craftsmanship and contributed to the town's reputation as a center for fine ceramics.
During the 18th century, a notable figure bearing the Bethge surname was Christian Gottlob Bethge, who was born in 1709 in Saxony. He was a Lutheran theologian and author, known for his contributions to the field of biblical exegesis.
In the 19th century, the Bethge name gained further recognition through the works of Hans Bethge, a German poet and translator born in 1876. He is particularly renowned for his translations of Chinese poetry and his collaborations with the composer Gustav Mahler.
Another individual of note is Eberhard Bethge, born in 1909, who was a theologian and close friend of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a prominent German pastor and anti-Nazi dissident. Bethge played a crucial role in preserving and publishing Bonhoeffer's writings after his execution by the Nazi regime.
Throughout its history, the surname Bethge has been associated with various regions of Germany, particularly in the states of Saxony and Thuringia. It has also spread to other parts of Europe and beyond, carried by families and individuals who migrated from their ancestral homelands.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bethge
Among Census respondents with the surname Bethge, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Bethge bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2010 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 Bethge surname at the time of the 2010 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.0%
- Unknown or suppressed1.0%
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bethge
Bethge appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-15 bearers (-12.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 24,464 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #130,443 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | -15 bearers (-12.5%) | Down 24,464 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
2000 vs 2010 Census
How has the Bethge surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20002010
| Metric | 2000 | 2010 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #130,443 | #154,907 | -18.8% |
| Count | 120 | 105 | -12.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.0% |
Between the 2000 and 2010 Census, the number of Bethge bearers went from 120 to 105 (-12.5% change). The surname moved down 24,464 positions in the national ranking, going from #130,443 to #154,907.
FAQ
Bethge surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bethge?
Name Census estimates that about 137 living Americans carry the surname Bethge. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,501,856 residents.
How common is Bethge?
Bethge ranks #154,907 in the 2010 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 2010 Census file counted 105 people with the surname Bethge. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (137), 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 Bethge.
Has Bethge become more or less common over time?
Between 2000 and 2010, the surname Bethge went from 120 recorded bearers to 105. That is a decrease of 15 (-12.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #130,443 to #154,907.
What does the Census say about the background of Bethge?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bethge, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. These figures come from the 2010 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 Bethge in the 2010 Census, accounting for 99.0%.
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bethge appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2010 file are White (99.0%).
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Not necessarily. Bethge appears here with 2010 Census data, while the latest surname file loaded on Name Census is 2020. When a surname drops below the Census publication threshold, older rows can still be kept for historical reference even if the name no longer appears in the newest file.
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 Bethge mean?
A German surname derived from the Low German word "bedde" meaning "bed". 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 2010 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 Bethge (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 are called Bethge?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Bethge at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.