2000
#125,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Biernbaum
A German surname referring to a pear tree.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Biernbaum. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Biernbaum 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Biernbaum in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Biernbaum, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Biernbaum
The surname Biernbaum originated in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the German words "Biern" meaning "bear" and "Baum" meaning "tree," suggesting that the name may have been associated with a location or landmark featuring a bear tree or a tree where bears were commonly found.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Biernbaum can be found in the 1589 church records of Schwäbisch Hall, a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, where a certain Hans Biernbaum was mentioned as a resident. Another early reference is found in the 1632 tax records of the town of Marbach am Neckar, which listed a family by the name of Biernbaum among the taxpayers.
The name Biernbaum has also been associated with various places and regions within Germany. For instance, there is a village called Biernbaum in the district of Schmalkalden-Meiningen, Thuringia, which may have served as the origin of the surname for some families. Additionally, variations of the name, such as Birnbaum and Byrnbaum, have been recorded in historical documents from different parts of Germany.
Notable individuals with the surname Biernbaum include:
1. Johann Michael Franz Birnbaum (1792-1877), a German philosopher and writer who was a proponent of German idealism.
2. Karl Birnbaum (1878-1950), a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as a member of the Reichstag from 1920 to 1933.
3. Edith Biernbaum (1908-1994), a German-born American writer and artist known for her involvement in the Surrealist movement and her contributions to the feminist art movement.
4. Salomon Biernbaum (1639-1708), a German-Jewish scholar and mathematician who made significant contributions to the study of astronomy and mathematics in the 17th century.
5. Otto Biernbaum (1892-1975), a German-born American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Biernbaum-Wolff Furniture Company in New York City and was a prominent supporter of educational and cultural institutions.
While the surname Biernbaum has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including the United States, where it is found among descendants of German immigrants who settled in regions such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Texas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Biernbaum
Among Census respondents with the surname Biernbaum, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Biernbaum 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 Biernbaum surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.0% · 114
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Biernbaum
Biernbaum 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
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-7 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,518 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+1 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,892 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #125,639 | 126 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 14,518 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 1,892 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 Biernbaum 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 | #140,157 | #142,049 | -1.3% |
| Count | 119 | 120 | 0.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Biernbaum bearers went from 119 to 120 (+0.8% change). The surname moved down 1,892 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #142,049.
FAQ
Biernbaum surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Biernbaum?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Biernbaum. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Biernbaum?
Biernbaum ranks #142,049 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 120 people with the surname Biernbaum. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), 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 Biernbaum.
Has Biernbaum become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Biernbaum went from 119 recorded bearers to 120. That is an increase of 1 (+0.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Biernbaum?
Among Census respondents with the surname Biernbaum, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Biernbaum in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.0% (114 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Biernbaum appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.0%), Hispanic (2.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Biernbaum (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 Biernbaum mean?
A German surname referring to a pear tree. 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 Biernbaum (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 Biernbaum?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Biernbaum on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.