2000
#118,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 135
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Burgermeister
The official representative or administrator of a German town or city.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Burgermeister. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Burgermeister 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Burgermeister in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Burgermeister, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.7%) and Hispanic (6.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Burgermeister
The surname BURGERMEISTER originates from the German language and is first recorded in the 13th century. It is derived from the German words "Bürger" meaning "citizen" and "Meister" meaning "master". The name likely referred to a respected citizen or a master craftsman in a town or city.
Early records show the name BURGERMEISTER appearing in various Germanic regions, including present-day Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It was particularly prevalent in the southern German states and the Alsace region of France, which had strong cultural ties to Germany.
One of the earliest known references to the name BURGERMEISTER is found in the Codex Manesse, a 14th-century German manuscript containing works of Middle High German poetry. The name is also recorded in various municipal records and guild registers from the late medieval period.
In the 15th century, a notable bearer of the name was Hans BURGERMEISTER (c. 1440-1510), a German painter and woodcarver active in Nuremberg. His works can be found in churches and museums throughout Bavaria.
Another early figure was Johann BURGERMEISTER (1573-1637), a German physician and botanist who served as the personal physician to the Elector of Saxony. He made significant contributions to the study of medicinal plants and published several influential works on the subject.
In the 17th century, the name BURGERMEISTER appears in records from various German-speaking regions, including the Holy Roman Empire. One notable bearer was Georg BURGERMEISTER (1609-1679), a Silesian theologian and author who wrote extensively on Protestant doctrine.
The 18th century saw the rise of Johann Stephan BURGERMEISTER (1736-1799), a renowned German organist and composer. He served as the court organist in Bayreuth and composed numerous works for the organ, including concertos and sonatas.
As the name spread across Europe, it also found its way to other regions, including the Netherlands and Scandinavia. In the 19th century, a notable bearer was Olaf BURGERMEISTER (1826-1901), a Norwegian shipping magnate and businessman who founded one of the country's largest shipping companies.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Burgermeister
Among Census respondents with the surname Burgermeister, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.7%) and Hispanic (6.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Burgermeister 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 Burgermeister surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.6% · 99
- Two or more races7.7% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 7
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Burgermeister
Burgermeister 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
#133,863
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
-9 bearers (-6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,909 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-9 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,407 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #118,954 | 135 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,863 | 126 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-6.7%) | Down 14,909 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 10,407 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 Burgermeister 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 | #133,863 | #144,270 | -7.8% |
| Count | 126 | 117 | -7.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Burgermeister bearers went from 126 to 117 (-7.1% change). The surname moved down 10,407 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,863 to #144,270.
FAQ
Burgermeister surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Burgermeister?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Burgermeister. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Burgermeister?
Burgermeister ranks #144,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 117 people with the surname Burgermeister. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Burgermeister.
Has Burgermeister become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Burgermeister went from 126 recorded bearers to 117. That is a decrease of 9 (-7.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,863 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Burgermeister?
Among Census respondents with the surname Burgermeister, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.7%) and Hispanic (6.0%). 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 Burgermeister in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.6% (99 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Burgermeister appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.6%), Two or More Races (7.7%), Hispanic (6.0%). 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 Burgermeister (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 Burgermeister mean?
The official representative or administrator of a German town or city. 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 Burgermeister (0.04 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 Burgermeister?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.