Borbély last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Borbély

A surname meaning "barber" in Hungarian.

Borbély, 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 Borbély surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Borbély in America

Borbély is the 56836th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Borbély surname appeared 359 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Borbély.

We can also compare 2010 data for Borbély 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 56836 55376 2.60%
Count 359 347 3.40%
Proportion per 100k 0.12 0.13 -8.00%

The history of the last name Borbély

The surname Borbely has its origins in Hungary, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Hungarian word 'borbély', which means 'barber' or 'surgeon'. This suggests that the name was originally an occupational surname, given to individuals who practiced the trade of barbering or minor surgery.

The earliest known records of the name Borbely can be traced back to the 13th century in various Hungarian documents and manuscripts. One notable mention is in the Regestrum Varadiense, a compilation of legal documents from the Diocese of Várad (now Oradea, Romania) from the 13th and 14th centuries, where the name appears as 'Borbel'.

During the medieval period, the Borbely surname was particularly prevalent in the regions of Transylvania and the Great Hungarian Plain. It is believed that the name may have originated from the town of Borbely (now Bărbulești, Romania), which could have been a center for the barbering trade.

In the 16th century, a prominent figure bearing the Borbely name was Péter Borbély (1499-1572), a Hungarian Calvinist minister and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in Hungary.

Another notable individual was János Borbély (1825-1892), a Hungarian writer and journalist who contributed to the literary and cultural scene of the 19th century.

In the 20th century, Sándor Borbély (1913-1984) was a Hungarian football player who represented the national team and played for several clubs, including Ferencvárosi TC and Újpesti TE.

Zsuzsa Borbély (1925-1998) was a Hungarian actress and singer who enjoyed a successful career in film, theater, and television, and was honored with various awards for her contributions to the arts.

Szilárd Borbély (born 1963) is a contemporary Hungarian writer and poet, known for his critically acclaimed works exploring themes of identity, memory, and trauma. He has received numerous literary awards, including the prestigious Kossuth Prize.

While the surname Borbely has its roots in Hungary, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora communities. However, the name remains strongly associated with its Hungarian heritage and the historical significance of the barbering trade.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Borbély

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

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 Borbély was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 96.10% 345
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.67% 6
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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 Borbély has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 96.10% 97.98% -1.94%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races 1.67% 0.00% 200.00%
Hispanic (S)% 1.44% (S)%

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

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

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"Borbély last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 2, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/borbely-surname-popularity/.

"Borbély last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/borbely-surname-popularity/. Accessed 2 October, 2025

Borbély last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/borbely-surname-popularity/.

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