2000
#139,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Butgereit
A German surname derived from words meaning "courtyard" and "to clear," signifying an occupation related to clearing or maintaining courtyards.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Butgereit. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Butgereit 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Butgereit in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Butgereit, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.5%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Butgereit
The surname Butgereit has its origins in Germany, and is believed to have first appeared in the late 16th or early 17th century. It is thought to be derived from the German words "butte" meaning a small house or hut, and "gereit" meaning ready or prepared. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived in a small, well-prepared dwelling or who was responsible for maintaining such dwellings.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a German church register from the town of Bamberg in 1612, which lists the baptism of a child named Hans Butgereit. The name also appears in various other historical records from the regions of Bavaria and Saxony during the 17th and 18th centuries.
In the 19th century, the Butgereit name began to spread more widely throughout Germany and neighboring countries. Notable individuals with this surname include the German writer and poet Wilhelm Butgereit (1855-1923), whose works often explored themes of rural life and the natural world.
Another notable figure was the German architect and urban planner Otto Butgereit (1876-1948), who was responsible for the design of several landmark buildings and urban development projects in cities such as Berlin and Hamburg in the early 20th century.
During the 20th century, the Butgereit name gained further recognition through the work of the German filmmaker Jörg Buttgereit (born 1963), who is known for his controversial and avant-garde horror films such as Nekromantik (1987) and Der Todesking (1990).
Other historical figures with the Butgereit surname include the German painter and illustrator Hermann Butgereit (1847-1923), whose works often depicted scenes from German folklore and mythology, and the German military officer and World War I veteran Ernst Butgereit (1892-1976), who later became a prominent figure in the post-war German political landscape.
While the Butgereit name has remained relatively rare compared to some other German surnames, it has a rich and diverse history spanning several centuries, with individuals from various walks of life contributing to the cultural and intellectual fabric of Germany and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Butgereit
Among Census respondents with the surname Butgereit, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.5%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Butgereit 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 Butgereit surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.0% · 95
- Two or more races6.5% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Butgereit
Butgereit 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
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+9 bearers (+8.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 400 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-11 bearers (-9.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,778 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #139,757 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.2%) | Down 400 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-9.2%) | Down 10,778 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 Butgereit 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 | #140,157 | #150,935 | -7.7% |
| Count | 119 | 108 | -9.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Butgereit bearers went from 119 to 108 (-9.2% change). The surname moved down 10,778 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #150,935.
FAQ
Butgereit surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Butgereit?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Butgereit. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Butgereit?
Butgereit ranks #150,935 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 108 people with the surname Butgereit. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), 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 Butgereit.
Has Butgereit become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Butgereit went from 119 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 11 (-9.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Butgereit?
Among Census respondents with the surname Butgereit, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.5%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Butgereit in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.0% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Butgereit appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.0%), Two or More Races (6.5%), Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Butgereit (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 Butgereit mean?
A German surname derived from words meaning "courtyard" and "to clear," signifying an occupation related to clearing or maintaining courtyards. 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 Butgereit (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 are called Butgereit?
Find out how many people have the last name Butgereit on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.