2000
#137,816
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Clayberger
A surname referring to someone residing near a clay pit.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Clayberger. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Clayberger 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
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Clayberger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Clayberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Clayberger
The surname Clayberger originates from the German language and has its roots in the region of Bavaria in southern Germany. The name is believed to have first emerged in the late 15th or early 16th century, deriving from the German word "kleiberg," which referred to a small hill or mound of clay.
During the medieval period, many surnames were formed based on occupations, physical characteristics, or geographical features associated with an individual or family. In this case, the surname Clayberger likely originated as a descriptive name for someone who lived near a clay hill or worked with clay, potentially as a potter or brickmaker.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Clayberger can be found in a town record from the village of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria, dated 1532, which mentions a certain Hans Clayberger. This suggests that the name was already established in the region by the early 16th century.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various church records and tax rolls from the Bavarian towns of Nuremberg and Augsburg, indicating that the Clayberger family had spread to these urban centers. A notable individual from this period was Johann Clayberger (1598-1672), a respected Lutheran theologian and author who served as a pastor in Nuremberg.
As German immigration to North America increased in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Clayberger surname began to appear in various regions of the United States and Canada. One of the earliest known individuals with this surname in America was Johann Georg Clayberger (1720-1792), who settled in Pennsylvania in the mid-1700s after arriving from the Palatinate region of Germany.
Another notable figure was Wilhelm Clayberger (1837-1911), a German-American entrepreneur and businessman who established a successful brewery in St. Louis, Missouri, in the late 19th century. His company, the Clayberger Brewing Company, operated until the era of Prohibition in the 1920s.
Other individuals of note include Anna Clayberger (1866-1943), a German-American artist and painter known for her landscape and still-life works, and Johann Clayberger (1892-1968), a German-born engineer who made significant contributions to the development of early automotive technology in the United States.
While the Clayberger name has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has maintained a presence in various parts of Germany, the United States, and other regions with significant German immigration. The name's origins can be traced back to the clay hills of medieval Bavaria, reflecting the rich linguistic and cultural heritage of the German people.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Clayberger
Among Census respondents with the surname Clayberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Clayberger 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 Clayberger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 99
- Two or more races3.7% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Clayberger
Clayberger 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
+7 bearers (+6.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,341 places
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-12 bearers (-10.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,482 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #137,816 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.3%) | Down 2,341 places |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-10.1%) | Down 11,482 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 Clayberger 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 | #151,639 | -8.2% |
| Count | 119 | 107 | -10.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Clayberger bearers went from 119 to 107 (-10.1% change). The surname moved down 11,482 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #151,639.
FAQ
Clayberger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Clayberger?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Clayberger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Clayberger?
Clayberger ranks #151,639 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 107 people with the surname Clayberger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), 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 Clayberger.
Has Clayberger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Clayberger went from 119 recorded bearers to 107. That is a decrease of 12 (-10.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Clayberger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Clayberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Clayberger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (99 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Clayberger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Two or More Races (3.7%), Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Clayberger (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 Clayberger mean?
A surname referring to someone residing near a clay pit. 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 Clayberger (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 Clayberger?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.