Find out how popular the last name Birnbaum is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Birnbaum.

Birnbaum, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Birnbaum surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Birnbaum in America

Birnbaum is the 10030th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Birnbaum surname appeared 3,211 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Birnbaum.

We can also compare 2010 data for Birnbaum to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Birnbaum

The surname Birnbaum is of German origin, with the earliest records dating back to the 16th century. The name is derived from the German words "Birn" meaning "pear" and "Baum" meaning "tree," suggesting that the original bearers of this name may have lived near a pear tree or orchard.

One of the earliest known references to the Birnbaum name can be found in the church records of the town of Zwickau, located in the state of Saxony, Germany. In 1573, a record mentions a Hans Birnbaum, a local resident. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the late 16th century.

In the 17th century, the Birnbaum name appeared in various German-speaking regions, including Bavaria, Hesse, and Württemberg. During this time, the spelling variations such as "Birnbaum," "Birnbaumm," and "Birrnbaum" were common.

One notable figure with the Birnbaum surname was Johann Michael Franz Birnbaum, a German philosopher and writer born in 1792 in Düsseldorf. He was known for his works on education and pedagogy, including "Uber Charakter-Bildung" (On Character Formation), published in 1832.

Another prominent individual was Karl Joseph Birnbaum, a German Roman Catholic theologian and university professor born in 1807 in Kassel. He taught at the University of Giessen and authored several works on theological subjects.

In the 19th century, the Birnbaum name spread beyond Germany as a result of emigration. One example is Heinrich Birnbaum, a German-American businessman born in 1825 in Niedernhausen, Germany. He immigrated to the United States in the mid-19th century and became a successful merchant in New York City.

Another notable figure was Nathan Birnbaum, a Jewish Austrian writer and Zionist activist born in 1864 in Vienna. He was a prominent figure in the early Zionist movement and played a role in the establishment of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Lastly, Salomon Birnbaum, a German Jewish scholar and historian born in 1891 in Hamburg, made significant contributions to the study of Yiddish language and literature. He authored numerous works, including "Yiddish: A Survey and a Grammar" and "The Hebrew Scripts: Part 1, The Text."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Birnbaum

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Birnbaum.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Birnbaum was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Birnbaum has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Birnbaum was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Birnbaum, please contact us.

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