2000
#14,164
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,946
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.72
Rare Last name
Borgman
A surname of German origin referring to a person from a castle or fortress.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,128 Americans carry the last name Borgman. That puts it at #15,227 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 161,069 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Borgman 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 161,069
Census rank
#15,227
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,856 bearers of the surname Borgman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15227th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Borgman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Borgman
The surname Borgman is of Dutch origin, originating in the Netherlands during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Dutch words "borg" meaning "fortified town" and "man" meaning "man." This suggests that the name Borgman referred to someone who lived or worked in a fortified town or borough.
The earliest known record of the surname Borgman dates back to the 14th century in the city of Utrecht, where it appeared in a municipal register from 1379. This suggests that the name had already been established in the region by that time.
In the 15th century, the name Borgman was found in various records across the Netherlands, including the town of Delft, where a Jan Borgman was listed as a merchant in 1457. This indicates that the name had spread to different parts of the country by then.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Borgman was Claes Borgman, a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of Leiden in the late 15th century. He was born around 1450 and played an influential role in the city's governance and trade affairs.
Another notable figure was Dirck Borgman, a Dutch painter and engraver who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was born in Utrecht around 1570 and is known for his biblical and allegorical paintings, as well as his engravings of landscapes and cityscapes.
In the 17th century, the name Borgman appeared in several Dutch colonies, including the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia). One such individual was Jan Borgman, a merchant and colonist who settled in Batavia (now Jakarta) in the 1630s and became involved in the spice trade.
During the 18th century, the Borgman surname was found in various parts of Europe, as Dutch immigrants and traders spread across the continent. For example, a Hans Borgman was a prominent merchant in the German city of Hamburg in the mid-1700s.
In the 19th century, the name Borgman continued to be found in the Netherlands and other parts of Europe, as well as in various Dutch settlements around the world. One notable individual was Petrus Borgman, a Dutch-born artist who lived in South Africa from 1857 to 1920 and is considered one of the country's foremost landscape painters.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Borgman
Among Census respondents with the surname Borgman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Borgman 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 Borgman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 1,721
- Two or more races2.9% · 54
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 53
- Black or African American0.6% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Borgman
Borgman 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
#14,030
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,147
+201 bearers (+10.3%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Up 134 places
2020
#15,227
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,856
-291 bearers (-13.6%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 1,197 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,164 | 1,946 | 0.72 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,030 | 2,147 | 0.73 | +201 bearers (+10.3%) | Up 134 places |
| 2020 | #15,227 | 1,856 | 0.62 | -291 bearers (-13.6%) | Down 1,197 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 Borgman 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 | #14,030 | #15,227 | -8.5% |
| Count | 2,147 | 1,856 | -13.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.73 | 0.62 | -14.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Borgman bearers went from 2,147 to 1,856 (-13.6% change). The surname moved down 1,197 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,030 to #15,227.
FAQ
Borgman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Borgman?
Name Census estimates that about 2,128 living Americans carry the surname Borgman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 161,069 residents.
How common is Borgman?
Borgman ranks #15,227 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.62 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 1,856 people with the surname Borgman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,128), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.62 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 Borgman.
Has Borgman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Borgman went from 2,147 recorded bearers to 1,856. That is a decrease of 291 (-13.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,030 to #15,227.
What does the Census say about the background of Borgman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Borgman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (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 Borgman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (1,721 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Borgman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Hispanic (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 Borgman (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 Borgman mean?
A surname of German origin referring to a person from a castle or fortress. 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 Borgman (0.62 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 Americans have the surname Borgman?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.