2000
#123,314
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Burshteyn
A Jewish surname derived from the word "borscht," referring to someone associated with the beetroot soup.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Burshteyn. 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 Burshteyn 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 Burshteyn 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 Burshteyn, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Burshteyn
The surname BURSHTEYN is believed to have originated in Eastern Europe, specifically in areas that were once part of the Russian Empire or the Pale of Settlement. It is a Jewish surname derived from the Yiddish word "burshte," meaning "brush" or "bristle," which likely referred to an occupation or trade.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name BURSHTEYN can be found in the Revision Lists, which were census-like records maintained by the Russian government in the 19th century to track the Jewish population within the Pale of Settlement. These records often contain variations in the spelling of surnames, including BURSHTEYN, BURSHTEIN, and BURSTEIN.
The name BURSHTEYN has also been found in various Jewish community records and documents from the late 18th and early 19th centuries in regions such as Belarus, Ukraine, and Poland, which were once part of the Russian Empire or the Pale of Settlement.
One notable individual with the surname BURSHTEYN was Yakov Burshteyn (1905-1937), a Soviet writer and playwright who was active during the early years of the Soviet Union. Another was Shmuel Burshteyn (1890-1965), a prominent Yiddish writer and editor who lived and worked in Poland and later emigrated to the United States.
Other individuals with the surname BURSHTEYN include Chaim Burshteyn (1892-1965), a Jewish educator and author who wrote extensively on Jewish history and culture, and Leah Burshteyn (1920-2008), a Polish-born Holocaust survivor who later became an advocate for Holocaust education and remembrance.
While the surname BURSHTEYN is relatively uncommon compared to some other Jewish surnames, it can be found among Jewish communities in various parts of the world, including the United States, Israel, and other countries with significant Jewish populations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Burshteyn
Among Census respondents with the surname Burshteyn, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Burshteyn 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 Burshteyn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 117
Timeline
Historical Census data for Burshteyn
Burshteyn 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
#128,249
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 133
+4 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 4,935 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-16 bearers (-12.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 16,021 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #123,314 | 129 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #128,249 | 133 | 0.05 | +4 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 4,935 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | -16 bearers (-12.0%) | Down 16,021 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 Burshteyn 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 | #128,249 | #144,270 | -12.5% |
| Count | 133 | 117 | -12.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -21.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Burshteyn bearers went from 133 to 117 (-12.0% change). The surname moved down 16,021 positions in the national ranking, going from #128,249 to #144,270.
FAQ
Burshteyn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Burshteyn?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Burshteyn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Burshteyn?
Burshteyn 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 Burshteyn. 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 Burshteyn.
Has Burshteyn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Burshteyn went from 133 recorded bearers to 117. That is a decrease of 16 (-12.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #128,249 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Burshteyn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Burshteyn, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Burshteyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (117 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Burshteyn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Burshteyn (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 Burshteyn mean?
A Jewish surname derived from the word "borscht," referring to someone associated with the beetroot soup. 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 Burshteyn (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 have the surname Burshteyn?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.