Find out how popular the last name Conger is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Conger.

Conger, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Conger surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Conger in America

Conger is the 5192nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Conger surname appeared 6,737 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Conger.

We can also compare 2010 data for Conger to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Conger

The surname Conger is of English origin, deriving from the Old English word "cong" or "cunge," which referred to a type of eel. It is believed that the name initially emerged as an occupational surname for someone who caught or traded eels.

In the Middle Ages, the Conger surname was found primarily in the counties of Dorset and Somerset in southwest England. Records from the 13th century show variations in spelling, such as Conger, Congere, and Cungere.

One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Dorset from 1195, which mention a Robert le Congere. The Feet of Fines for Dorset in 1261 also include a record of a Thomas Cungere.

In the 14th century, the Conger surname appeared in the Subsidy Rolls for Somerset, suggesting that the name had spread to neighboring counties. The 1327 Subsidy Rolls for Somerset list a John Conger.

The Conger surname can be traced back to various places in Dorset and Somerset, such as Congers in the parish of Mappowder, Dorset, and Congresbury in Somerset, which may have influenced the spelling and distribution of the name.

Notable individuals with the Conger surname throughout history include:

1. Richard Conger (c. 1555 - 1628), an English clergyman and author who wrote "A Briefe Instruction for the Exercise of Christian Religion."

2. Samuel Conger (1622 - 1708), an English Puritan minister and writer who served as a chaplain during the English Civil War.

3. Erasmus Conger (1750 - 1820), an American soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War and later served as a member of the New York State Assembly.

4. Omar D. Conger (1818 - 1898), an American politician who served as a U.S. Senator from Michigan from 1881 to 1887.

5. Edwin H. Conger (1843 - 1907), an American diplomat who served as the U.S. Minister to China and later as the U.S. Minister to Mexico.

While the Conger surname is not among the most common in English-speaking countries today, its origins can be traced back to the occupational and geographical influences of medieval England.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Conger

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Conger.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Conger was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Conger has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Conger was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Conger, please contact us.

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