2000
#121,058
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Damberg
A toponymic surname originating from Damberg or Dammberg, placenames of German locales.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Damberg. 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 Damberg 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 Damberg 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 Damberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Damberg
The surname Damberg has its origins in Germany, emerging in the late 16th or early 17th century. It is believed to be derived from the German words "damm" and "berg," which translate to "dam" and "mountain" or "hill," respectively. This suggests that the name likely originated from a location near a dam or embankment situated on or near a hill or mountain.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Damberg can be found in the records of the town of Lübeck, in northern Germany, dating back to the late 1600s. This document refers to a family with the surname Damberg residing in the area at that time.
In the 18th century, the name Damberg appeared in various church records and land ownership documents across several regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Westphalia. This indicates that the name had spread to different parts of the country by that point.
One notable individual with the surname Damberg was Johann Friedrich Damberg, a German philosopher and writer who lived from 1711 to 1782. He was born in Saxony and became known for his philosophical treatises and works on ethics.
Another historically significant figure was Wilhelm Damberg, a German military officer who served in the Prussian Army during the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in 1785 and died in 1845, having attained the rank of Major General.
In the 19th century, the Damberg surname continued to be associated with various professions and occupations, including merchants, artisans, and academics. Karl Damberg, a German artist and painter, was born in 1825 and gained recognition for his landscape and portrait works during his lifetime.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the name Damberg also appeared in historical records related to immigration to other countries, such as the United States and Canada, as German families sought new opportunities abroad.
One notable individual from this period was Heinrich Damberg, a German-American entrepreneur who emigrated to the United States in the late 1800s. He established a successful business in the Midwest and became a prominent figure in his local community.
While the Damberg surname may not be among the most common German names, it has a rich historical heritage that can be traced back several centuries, with various individuals bearing the name making significant contributions in various fields throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Damberg
Among Census respondents with the surname Damberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Damberg 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 Damberg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.8% · 95
- Two or more races5.6% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 4
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Damberg
Damberg 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
#130,610
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
-2 bearers (-1.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,552 places
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-23 bearers (-17.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 21,029 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #121,058 | 132 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #130,610 | 130 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.5%) | Down 9,552 places |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | -23 bearers (-17.7%) | Down 21,029 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 Damberg 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 | #130,610 | #151,639 | -16.1% |
| Count | 130 | 107 | -17.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Damberg bearers went from 130 to 107 (-17.7% change). The surname moved down 21,029 positions in the national ranking, going from #130,610 to #151,639.
FAQ
Damberg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Damberg?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Damberg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Damberg?
Damberg 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 Damberg. 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 Damberg.
Has Damberg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Damberg went from 130 recorded bearers to 107. That is a decrease of 23 (-17.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #130,610 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Damberg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Damberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) 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 Damberg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.8% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Damberg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.8%), Two or More Races (5.6%), 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 Damberg (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 Damberg mean?
A toponymic surname originating from Damberg or Dammberg, placenames of German locales. 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 Damberg (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 Damberg?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.