2000
#7,801
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,930
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.46
Rare Last name
Borchardt
A German habitational surname derived from places named Borchardt, likely referring to a fortified settlement or dwelling.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,372 Americans carry the last name Borchardt. That puts it at #8,312 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 78,398 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Borchardt 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
4.4K
1 in 78,398
Census rank
#8,312
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,813 bearers of the surname Borchardt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8312th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Borchardt, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Borchardt
The surname Borchardt is of German origin and dates back to the 13th century. It is believed to have originated from the German word "bord," meaning "border" or "edge," and may have been an occupational name for someone who lived near a border or on the outskirts of a town or village.
The earliest known record of the name Borchardt can be found in the town of Borken, located in the northern part of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The name was first mentioned in a document from 1295, referring to a man named Heinrich Borchardt.
During the Middle Ages, the name Borchardt was most commonly found in the regions of Saxony and Brandenburg, which were part of the Holy Roman Empire at the time. It is likely that the name spread to other parts of Germany as people migrated or relocated for various reasons, such as trade or military service.
In the 16th century, the name Borchardt appeared in several historical records, including the Nuremberg Chronicles, a famous illustrated world history book published in 1493. One notable individual with this surname was Hans Borchardt, a merchant and city councilor who lived in the city of Lübeck in the late 15th century.
Another prominent figure with the surname Borchardt was Johann Gottfried Borchardt, a German mathematician and physicist who lived from 1761 to 1823. He is best known for his contributions to the field of calculus and his work on the Borchardt-Huygens formula.
In the 19th century, the name Borchardt gained further recognition through the achievements of the German chemist and industrialist Carl Wilhelm Borchardt, who was born in 1817 and died in 1880. He is credited with developing several important chemical processes and founding the Borchardt Chemical Company in Berlin.
Other notable individuals with the surname Borchardt include the German artist and sculptor Rudolf Borchardt (1876-1945), known for his contributions to the Expressionist movement, and the American mathematician Oskar Borchardt (1868-1923), who worked on the theory of algebraic integers.
Throughout its history, the surname Borchardt has undergone various spelling variations, such as Borchard, Borchart, and Borchert, reflecting regional dialects and linguistic changes over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Borchardt
Among Census respondents with the surname Borchardt, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Borchardt 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 Borchardt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 3,547
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 146
- Two or more races2.5% · 96
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 10
- Black or African American0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Borchardt
Borchardt 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
#7,997
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,136
+206 bearers (+5.2%)
Per 100,000 1.40
Rank movement Down 196 places
2020
#8,312
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,813
-323 bearers (-7.8%)
Per 100,000 1.28
Rank movement Down 315 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,801 | 3,930 | 1.46 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,997 | 4,136 | 1.40 | +206 bearers (+5.2%) | Down 196 places |
| 2020 | #8,312 | 3,813 | 1.28 | -323 bearers (-7.8%) | Down 315 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 Borchardt 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 | #7,997 | #8,312 | -3.9% |
| Count | 4,136 | 3,813 | -7.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.40 | 1.28 | -8.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Borchardt bearers went from 4,136 to 3,813 (-7.8% change). The surname moved down 315 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,997 to #8,312.
FAQ
Borchardt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Borchardt?
Name Census estimates that about 4,372 living Americans carry the surname Borchardt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 78,398 residents.
How common is Borchardt?
Borchardt ranks #8,312 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.28 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 3,813 people with the surname Borchardt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,372), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.28 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 Borchardt.
Has Borchardt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Borchardt went from 4,136 recorded bearers to 3,813. That is a decrease of 323 (-7.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,997 to #8,312.
What does the Census say about the background of Borchardt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Borchardt, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Borchardt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (3,547 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Borchardt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Borchardt (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 Borchardt mean?
A German habitational surname derived from places named Borchardt, likely referring to a fortified settlement or dwelling. 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 Borchardt (1.28 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 Borchardt?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Borchardt, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.