2000
#3,381
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,674
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.59
Uncommon Last name
Binder
An occupational surname referring to a bookbinder or someone who binds books or other materials.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,608 Americans carry the last name Binder. That puts it at #3,736 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 32,311 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Binder 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Binder with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 32,311
Census rank
#3,736
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.3K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,251 bearers of the surname Binder in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3736th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Binder, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Binder
The surname Binder has its origins in Germany and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is an occupational surname, derived from the German word "binder," which refers to a person who bound or tied things together, such as bundles or sheaves of grain or hay. The name may have also been given to those who worked as bookbinders or coopers, crafting wooden barrels and casks.
One of the earliest records of the name Binder can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, dating back to the 13th century. It mentions a "Heinricus Binder" in 1267. Another early reference appears in the Hausschatz, a medieval German manuscript from the 14th century, which includes a recipe for a herbal remedy attributed to a "Johann Binder."
The Binder surname can be traced back to various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. In some areas, variations of the spelling existed, such as Bynder or Binnder. The name was also found in Switzerland, where it was sometimes rendered as Binder or Binder.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Binder was Hans Binder, a German painter and engraver who lived in the 16th century (c. 1525-1600). Another notable figure was Johann Sebastian Binder (1661-1736), a German composer and organist from Saxony.
In the 19th century, Johann Michael Binder (1828-1902) was a German-American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania. Around the same time, the German-born artist Philipp Binder (1846-1913) gained recognition for his landscape paintings.
The surname Binder has also been associated with several places in Germany, such as Bindersleben, a municipality in Thuringia, and Binderhäuser, a district in the city of Hof in Bavaria. These place names likely derived from individuals bearing the Binder surname who lived in or were associated with those locations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Binder
Among Census respondents with the surname Binder, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Binder 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 Binder surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.1% · 8,150
- Black or African American5.0% · 459
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 295
- Two or more races2.8% · 256
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 71
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Binder
Binder 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
#3,660
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,720
+46 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 3.30
Rank movement Down 279 places
2020
#3,736
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,251
-469 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 3.10
Rank movement Down 76 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,381 | 9,674 | 3.59 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,660 | 9,720 | 3.30 | +46 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 279 places |
| 2020 | #3,736 | 9,251 | 3.10 | -469 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 76 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 Binder 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 | #3,660 | #3,736 | -2.1% |
| Count | 9,720 | 9,251 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 3.30 | 3.10 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Binder bearers went from 9,720 to 9,251 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 76 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,660 to #3,736.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Binder
FAQ
Binder surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Binder?
Name Census estimates that about 10,608 living Americans carry the surname Binder. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 32,311 residents.
How common is Binder?
Binder ranks #3,736 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.10 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,251 people with the surname Binder. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,608), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.10 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Binder.
Has Binder become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Binder went from 9,720 recorded bearers to 9,251. That is a decrease of 469 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,660 to #3,736.
What does the Census say about the background of Binder?
Among Census respondents with the surname Binder, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Binder in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.1% (8,150 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Binder appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.1%), Black (5.0%), Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Binder (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 Binder mean?
An occupational surname referring to a bookbinder or someone who binds books or other materials. 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 Binder (3.10 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 Americans have the surname Binder?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.