2000
#10,990
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,655
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.98
Rare Last name
Borchert
A German occupational surname referring to a person who worked with wood, such as a carpenter or woodcutter.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,664 Americans carry the last name Borchert. That puts it at #12,691 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.78 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 128,662 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Borchert 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
2.7K
1 in 128,662
Census rank
#12,691
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,323 bearers of the surname Borchert in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.78 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12691st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Borchert, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Borchert
The surname Borchert is of German origin, first appearing in the late medieval period around the 13th century. It is derived from the Old German words "borh" meaning hill or small mountain, and "hart" meaning hardy or brave. As such, the name Borchert would have initially referred to someone who lived near a hill or small mountain and was hardy or brave in character.
The earliest records of the name Borchert can be found in the town of Borchen in the Paderborn region of what is now North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. In 1258, a document from the Abdinghof monastery in Paderborn mentions a "Hermannus de Borchten", likely an early bearer of the surname.
By the 15th century, variations of the name such as Borchert, Borcherd, and Borchart had spread to other areas of Germany, including Saxony and Brandenburg. The 1497 census records of the town of Halle, Saxony list a "Hans Borchert" among its residents.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname was Johannes Borchert, a Protestant theologian and reformer born in Mühlhausen, Thuringia in 1585. He was a prominent figure in the early years of the Protestant Reformation in Germany.
Another notable bearer of the name was Friedrich Borchert, a German composer and organist who lived from 1698 to 1761. He served as the organist at the Marienkirche in Lübeck and composed numerous works for organ and choir.
In the 19th century, the Borchert surname became associated with the city of Hamburg, where several prominent families bearing the name resided. Johann Borchert, born in 1817, was a successful merchant and shipowner in the city.
Wolfgang Borchert, a German author and playwright, was one of the most famous bearers of the surname in the 20th century. Born in 1921 in Hamburg, he is best known for his works depicting the struggles of post-World War II Germany, such as the play "Draußen vor der Tür" (Outside the Door).
Another individual of note was Hans-Joachim Borchert, a German politician and member of the Christian Democratic Union party, who served as the Minister of Finance for West Germany from 1976 to 1978.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Borchert
Among Census respondents with the surname Borchert, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Borchert 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 Borchert surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 2,151
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 70
- Two or more races2.9% · 67
- Black or African American0.7% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Borchert
Borchert 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
#11,516
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,731
+76 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Down 526 places
2020
#12,691
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,323
-408 bearers (-14.9%)
Per 100,000 0.78
Rank movement Down 1,175 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,990 | 2,655 | 0.98 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,516 | 2,731 | 0.93 | +76 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 526 places |
| 2020 | #12,691 | 2,323 | 0.78 | -408 bearers (-14.9%) | Down 1,175 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 Borchert 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 | #11,516 | #12,691 | -10.2% |
| Count | 2,731 | 2,323 | -14.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.93 | 0.78 | -16.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Borchert bearers went from 2,731 to 2,323 (-14.9% change). The surname moved down 1,175 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,516 to #12,691.
FAQ
Borchert surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Borchert?
Name Census estimates that about 2,664 living Americans carry the surname Borchert. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 128,662 residents.
How common is Borchert?
Borchert ranks #12,691 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.78 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 2,323 people with the surname Borchert. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,664), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.78 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.78 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 Borchert.
Has Borchert become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Borchert went from 2,731 recorded bearers to 2,323. That is a decrease of 408 (-14.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,516 to #12,691.
What does the Census say about the background of Borchert?
Among Census respondents with the surname Borchert, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Borchert in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (2,151 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Borchert appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Hispanic (3.0%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Borchert (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 Borchert mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a person who worked with wood, such as a carpenter or woodcutter. 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 Borchert (0.78 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 last name Borchert?
You can see how many people have the surname Borchert on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.