2000
#5,042
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,385
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.37
Rare Last name
Born
Derived from Middle English and Old Norse, referring to a person dwelling at or near a stream or brook.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,636 Americans carry the last name Born. That puts it at #5,103 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 44,887 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Born 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Born with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.6K
1 in 44,887
Census rank
#5,103
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,659 bearers of the surname Born in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5103rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Born, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Born
The surname Born is of German origin and is believed to have originated in the medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the German word "Born," which means "well" or "spring," and may have initially referred to someone who lived near a well or spring.
The name is first recorded in various German records and documents from the 14th century, such as the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of official documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is Johann Born, mentioned in a document from 1342 in the town of Nuremberg.
As the name spread throughout Germany, it developed different spellings and variations, including Borne, Bornemann, and Borner. These variations often reflected regional dialects and the influence of local scribes who recorded names based on their pronunciation.
The name Born is also associated with several notable historical figures. One such figure is the German composer and musician, Johann Born (1677-1748), known for his contributions to the development of the bassoon and his compositions for wind instruments.
Another prominent individual with the surname Born was the Prussian mineralogist and geologist, Ignaz Edler von Born (1742-1791), who made significant contributions to the study of mineralogy and was a pioneering figure in the field of crystallography.
In the 19th century, the German mathematician and physicist, Gustav Born (1851-1900), gained recognition for his work in the field of fluid dynamics and the study of turbulence. He is particularly known for the Born equation, which describes the motion of a particle in a fluid.
The surname Born has also been associated with places and geographical locations. For example, the town of Born in the Netherlands is named after a stream that runs through the area, reflecting the original meaning of the name.
Throughout history, the surname Born has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including artists, scientists, musicians, and scholars, reflecting the widespread distribution and long-standing presence of this name across German-speaking regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Born
Among Census respondents with the surname Born, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Born 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 Born surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.0% · 5,925
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 250
- Two or more races3.1% · 207
- Black or African American2.1% · 138
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 121
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Born
Born 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
#5,168
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,771
+386 bearers (+6.0%)
Per 100,000 2.30
Rank movement Down 126 places
2020
#5,103
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,659
-112 bearers (-1.7%)
Per 100,000 2.23
Rank movement Up 65 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,042 | 6,385 | 2.37 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,168 | 6,771 | 2.30 | +386 bearers (+6.0%) | Down 126 places |
| 2020 | #5,103 | 6,659 | 2.23 | -112 bearers (-1.7%) | Up 65 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 Born 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 | #5,168 | #5,103 | 1.3% |
| Count | 6,771 | 6,659 | -1.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.30 | 2.23 | -3.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Born bearers went from 6,771 to 6,659 (-1.7% change). The surname moved up 65 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,168 to #5,103.
FAQ
Born surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Born?
Name Census estimates that about 7,636 living Americans carry the surname Born. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 44,887 residents.
How common is Born?
Born ranks #5,103 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.23 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,659 people with the surname Born. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,636), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.23 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Born.
Has Born become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Born went from 6,771 recorded bearers to 6,659. That is a decrease of 112 (-1.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #5,168 to #5,103.
What does the Census say about the background of Born?
Among Census respondents with the surname Born, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Born in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.0% (5,925 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Born appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.0%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Born (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 Born mean?
Derived from Middle English and Old Norse, referring to a person dwelling at or near a stream or brook. 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 Born (2.23 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 Born?
Want to know how common the surname Born is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.