2000
#39,678
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 521
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.19
Very Rare Last name
Blumenberg
A Germanized spelling of a locational surname referring to an inhabitant of a town with the name Blomberg or Blumenberg.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 803 Americans carry the last name Blumenberg. That puts it at #34,781 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 426,842 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Blumenberg 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
803
1 in 426,842
Census rank
#34,781
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
700
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 700 bearers of the surname Blumenberg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 34781st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Blumenberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.3%. The next largest groups are Black (18.3%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Blumenberg
The surname Blumenberg is of German origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German words "Blume" meaning flower and "Berg" meaning mountain or hill, suggesting that the name likely originated from a person who lived near a flowery hill or mountain.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Blumenberg name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from the region of Saxony, dating back to the 13th century. The name appears in various spellings, such as Blomenberg and Blumenberge, indicating its evolution over time.
In the 15th century, a notable figure with the Blumenberg surname was Johannes Blumenberg, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1425 to 1492. He was known for his work on the reconciliation of faith and reason, and his writings were influential during the Renaissance period.
Another significant bearer of the Blumenberg name was Friedrich Blumenberg, a German painter and engraver who lived from 1780 to 1856. He was known for his intricate landscapes and cityscapes, and his works can be found in various museums across Europe.
In the 19th century, Karl Blumenberg, a German architect and urban planner, made a significant contribution to the development of modern city planning. He was born in 1823 and died in 1898, and his designs can be seen in several cities across Germany.
The Blumenberg name also has connections to place names in Germany. For example, there is a town called Blumenberg in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which may have been named after an early settler with the Blumenberg surname.
In more recent history, Hans Blumenberg, a German philosopher and metaphorologist, gained recognition for his work on the history of metaphors and their role in shaping human understanding. He lived from 1920 to 1996 and his influential writings contributed to the fields of philosophy, hermeneutics, and literary theory.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Blumenberg
Among Census respondents with the surname Blumenberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.3%. The next largest groups are Black (18.3%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Blumenberg 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 Blumenberg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.3% · 520
- Black or African American18.3% · 128
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 24
- Two or more races3.4% · 24
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Blumenberg
Blumenberg 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
#35,057
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 643
+122 bearers (+23.4%)
Per 100,000 0.22
Rank movement Up 4,621 places
2020
#34,781
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 700
+57 bearers (+8.9%)
Per 100,000 0.23
Rank movement Up 276 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #39,678 | 521 | 0.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #35,057 | 643 | 0.22 | +122 bearers (+23.4%) | Up 4,621 places |
| 2020 | #34,781 | 700 | 0.23 | +57 bearers (+8.9%) | Up 276 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 Blumenberg 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 | #35,057 | #34,781 | 0.8% |
| Count | 643 | 700 | 8.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.22 | 0.23 | 6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Blumenberg bearers went from 643 to 700 (+8.9% change). The surname moved up 276 positions in the national ranking, going from #35,057 to #34,781.
FAQ
Blumenberg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Blumenberg?
Name Census estimates that about 803 living Americans carry the surname Blumenberg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 426,842 residents.
How common is Blumenberg?
Blumenberg ranks #34,781 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.23 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 700 people with the surname Blumenberg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (803), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.23 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 Blumenberg.
Has Blumenberg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Blumenberg went from 643 recorded bearers to 700. That is an increase of 57 (+8.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #35,057 to #34,781.
What does the Census say about the background of Blumenberg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Blumenberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.3%. The next largest groups are Black (18.3%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Blumenberg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.3% (520 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Blumenberg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.3%), Black (18.3%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Blumenberg (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 Blumenberg mean?
A Germanized spelling of a locational surname referring to an inhabitant of a town with the name Blomberg or Blumenberg. 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 Blumenberg (0.23 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 common is the surname Blumenberg?
Find out how many people have the surname Blumenberg on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.