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

Bittinger, 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 Bittinger surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bittinger in America

Bittinger is the 11478th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bittinger surname appeared 2,741 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 Bittinger.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bittinger 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 Bittinger

The surname Bittinger originates from Germany, where it first appeared in the 16th century. The name is believed to be derived from the German word "bittinger," which means "bitter." This could suggest that the name may have been a descriptive nickname initially given to someone with a bitter or harsh demeanor.

The earliest known record of the Bittinger name can be found in the town of Schwabach, located in the Middle Franconian region of Bavaria, Germany. In 1567, a man named Hans Bittinger was documented as a resident of the town.

Another early reference to the name can be found in the records of the city of Nuremberg, also in Bavaria. In 1582, a man named Christoph Bittinger was listed as a citizen of the city.

One of the earliest known Bittingers to immigrate to North America was Johann Georg Bittinger, who arrived in Pennsylvania from Germany in 1749. He settled in York County and is considered one of the progenitors of the Bittinger family in the United States.

In the late 18th century, the Bittinger name appeared in various records in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. John Bittinger (1760-1839) was a prominent early settler in the area and served as a captain in the Virginia militia during the American Revolutionary War.

Another notable figure with the Bittinger surname was Benjamin Franklin Bittinger (1833-1920), an American educator and author from Pennsylvania. He served as the principal of Millersville Normal School (now Millersville University) and wrote several textbooks on mathematics and pedagogy.

In the 19th century, the Bittinger name was also found in various parts of Maryland, including Frederick County. One of the earliest known Bittingers in the area was Jacob Bittinger (1794-1877), who was a farmer and landowner.

Throughout history, the Bittinger surname has had variations in its spelling, including Bittenger, Bittenger, and Bittinger. These variations can be found in different regions and records, reflecting the influence of local dialects and scribal variations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bittinger

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

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 Bittinger 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 Bittinger 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 Bittinger was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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