2000
#9,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,160
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.17
Rare Last name
Birnbaum
A German and Jewish occupational surname referring to a person who worked with pears or sold pear trees.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,699 Americans carry the last name Birnbaum. That puts it at #9,626 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 92,661 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Birnbaum 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
3.7K
1 in 92,661
Census rank
#9,626
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,226 bearers of the surname Birnbaum in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9626th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Birnbaum, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Birnbaum
Among Census respondents with the surname Birnbaum, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Birnbaum 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 Birnbaum surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 2,974
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 132
- Two or more races2.2% · 72
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 39
- Black or African American0.3% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Birnbaum
Birnbaum 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
#10,030
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,211
+51 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 1.09
Rank movement Down 594 places
2020
#9,626
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,226
+15 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 1.08
Rank movement Up 404 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,436 | 3,160 | 1.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,030 | 3,211 | 1.09 | +51 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 594 places |
| 2020 | #9,626 | 3,226 | 1.08 | +15 bearers (+0.5%) | Up 404 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 Birnbaum 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 | #10,030 | #9,626 | 4.0% |
| Count | 3,211 | 3,226 | 0.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.09 | 1.08 | -1.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Birnbaum bearers went from 3,211 to 3,226 (+0.5% change). The surname moved up 404 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,030 to #9,626.
FAQ
Birnbaum surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Birnbaum?
Name Census estimates that about 3,699 living Americans carry the surname Birnbaum. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 92,661 residents.
How common is Birnbaum?
Birnbaum ranks #9,626 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.08 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,226 people with the surname Birnbaum. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,699), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.08 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Birnbaum.
Has Birnbaum become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Birnbaum went from 3,211 recorded bearers to 3,226. That is an increase of 15 (+0.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,030 to #9,626.
What does the Census say about the background of Birnbaum?
Among Census respondents with the surname Birnbaum, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Birnbaum in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (2,974 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Birnbaum appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Hispanic (4.1%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Birnbaum (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 Birnbaum mean?
A German and Jewish occupational surname referring to a person who worked with pears or sold pear trees. 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 Birnbaum (1.08 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 have the surname Birnbaum?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.