2000
#14,335
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,916
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.71
Rare Last name
Bordner
An occupational surname for a maker or seller of planks or boards, derived from the Middle High German "bort".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,069 Americans carry the last name Bordner. That puts it at #15,592 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 165,662 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bordner 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
2.1K
1 in 165,662
Census rank
#15,592
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,804 bearers of the surname Bordner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15592nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bordner, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bordner
The surname Bordner is of German origin, originating in the Middle Ages around the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Middle High German word "bort," meaning "edge" or "border," possibly referring to someone who lived near a border or on the outskirts of a town or village.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Bordner can be traced back to the regions of Franconia and Bavaria in present-day Germany. Historical records show variations in spelling, including Bordner, Bordener, and Bordner.
One of the earliest documented references to the name Bordner is found in the Nuremberg Chronicles, a renowned illustrated world history book published in 1493. It mentions a certain Hans Bordner, a merchant from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Franconia.
In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the surname Bordner was Johann Bordner, a Lutheran reformer and theologian born in Nuremberg in 1520. He played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation and was a contemporary of Martin Luther.
During the 17th century, the Bordner family spread across various regions of Germany, with some members migrating to other parts of Europe and eventually to the American colonies. One such individual was Peter Bordner, who was born in Hesse, Germany, in 1651 and later settled in Pennsylvania, USA.
Another prominent figure with the surname Bordner was Friedrich Bordner, a German-born artist and painter who lived from 1781 to 1853. He is known for his landscapes and portraits depicting the rural life of his time.
In the 19th century, the Bordner name gained recognition through the work of Johann Gottfried Bordner, a German philologist and linguist born in 1812. He made significant contributions to the study of Germanic languages and published several influential works on the subject.
While the surname Bordner is more commonly associated with German ancestry, it has also been found in other European countries, such as Switzerland and Austria, likely due to migration and settlement patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bordner
Among Census respondents with the surname Bordner, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Bordner 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 Bordner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 1,608
- Two or more races3.9% · 70
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 37
- Black or African American1.1% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bordner
Bordner 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
#14,358
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,083
+167 bearers (+8.7%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 23 places
2020
#15,592
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,804
-279 bearers (-13.4%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Down 1,234 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,335 | 1,916 | 0.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,358 | 2,083 | 0.71 | +167 bearers (+8.7%) | Down 23 places |
| 2020 | #15,592 | 1,804 | 0.60 | -279 bearers (-13.4%) | Down 1,234 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 Bordner 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 | #14,358 | #15,592 | -8.6% |
| Count | 2,083 | 1,804 | -13.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.71 | 0.60 | -15.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bordner bearers went from 2,083 to 1,804 (-13.4% change). The surname moved down 1,234 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,358 to #15,592.
FAQ
Bordner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bordner?
Name Census estimates that about 2,069 living Americans carry the surname Bordner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 165,662 residents.
How common is Bordner?
Bordner ranks #15,592 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 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 1,804 people with the surname Bordner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,069), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 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 Bordner.
Has Bordner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bordner went from 2,083 recorded bearers to 1,804. That is a decrease of 279 (-13.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,358 to #15,592.
What does the Census say about the background of Bordner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bordner, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Bordner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (1,608 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bordner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.1%), Two or More Races (3.9%), Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Bordner (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 Bordner mean?
An occupational surname for a maker or seller of planks or boards, derived from the Middle High German "bort". 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 Bordner (0.60 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 share the surname Bordner?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.