2000
#9,656
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,088
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.14
Rare Last name
Elbert
Derived from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements adal, meaning "noble," and berht, meaning "bright" or "famous."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,516 Americans carry the last name Elbert. That puts it at #10,031 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 97,484 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Elbert 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
3.5K
1 in 97,484
Census rank
#10,031
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,066 bearers of the surname Elbert in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10031st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Elbert, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.8%. The next largest groups are Black (17.3%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Elbert
The surname ELBERT is believed to have originated in Germany during the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is thought to be derived from the Germanic personal name Albrecht, which is composed of the elements "ald" meaning "old" and "beraht" meaning "bright" or "illustrious."
The earliest recorded instances of the surname ELBERT can be found in various German records and manuscripts from the 14th and 15th centuries. One notable example is the mention of a Johannes Elbert in a land deed from the city of Cologne in 1387.
The name likely evolved from the more common spelling of Albrecht through various regional dialectal variations and variations in pronunciation. In some areas, the name may have been influenced by place names or other geographical features, leading to slight differences in spelling or pronunciation.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, as migration and travel became more common, the ELBERT surname began to spread beyond its original German heartland. It can be found in records from neighboring regions such as the Netherlands, where it may have been influenced by Dutch naming traditions.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the ELBERT surname was Johann Elbert, a German Lutheran theologian and writer who lived from 1554 to 1622. Another notable figure was Samuel Gotthold Elbert, a German jurist and legal scholar who lived from 1687 to 1765 and wrote extensively on Roman law.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the ELBERT surname continued to spread throughout Europe and beyond, carried by waves of emigration and exploration. One notable bearer of the name was Johann Elbert Theodor von Tschirner, a German-Russian statesman and diplomat who lived from 1782 to 1844 and served as the Governor-General of the Russian Empire's Baltic provinces.
Another individual of note was Louis Frédéric Elbert, a French painter and engraver who lived from 1795 to 1876 and was known for his landscape and genre paintings.
As the name spread across continents, it took on various spellings and adaptations in different languages and cultures, but the core Germanic roots remained intact. Today, the ELBERT surname can be found in many parts of the world, a testament to its rich history and enduring legacy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Elbert
Among Census respondents with the surname Elbert, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.8%. The next largest groups are Black (17.3%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Elbert 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 Elbert surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.8% · 2,294
- Black or African American17.3% · 530
- Two or more races4.3% · 133
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Elbert
Elbert 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
#9,716
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,339
+251 bearers (+8.1%)
Per 100,000 1.13
Rank movement Down 60 places
2020
#10,031
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,066
-273 bearers (-8.2%)
Per 100,000 1.03
Rank movement Down 315 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,656 | 3,088 | 1.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,716 | 3,339 | 1.13 | +251 bearers (+8.1%) | Down 60 places |
| 2020 | #10,031 | 3,066 | 1.03 | -273 bearers (-8.2%) | Down 315 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 Elbert 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 | #9,716 | #10,031 | -3.2% |
| Count | 3,339 | 3,066 | -8.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.13 | 1.03 | -9.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Elbert bearers went from 3,339 to 3,066 (-8.2% change). The surname moved down 315 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,716 to #10,031.
FAQ
Elbert surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Elbert?
Name Census estimates that about 3,516 living Americans carry the surname Elbert. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 97,484 residents.
How common is Elbert?
Elbert ranks #10,031 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,066 people with the surname Elbert. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,516), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Elbert.
Has Elbert become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Elbert went from 3,339 recorded bearers to 3,066. That is a decrease of 273 (-8.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,716 to #10,031.
What does the Census say about the background of Elbert?
Among Census respondents with the surname Elbert, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.8%. The next largest groups are Black (17.3%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Elbert in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.8% (2,294 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Elbert appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.8%), Black (17.3%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Elbert (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 Elbert mean?
Derived from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements adal, meaning "noble," and berht, meaning "bright" or "famous." 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 Elbert (1.03 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 Elbert?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.