Ellenberger last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Ellenberger

A German occupational surname referring to a tax collector or customs official.

Ellenberger, 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 Ellenberger surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ellenberger in America

Ellenberger is the 11919th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ellenberger surname appeared 2,627 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Ellenberger.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ellenberger 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 11919 12698 -6.33%
Count 2,627 2,234 16.17%
Proportion per 100k 0.89 0.83 6.98%

The history of the last name Ellenberger

The surname Ellenberger is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have originated in the region of Bavaria, where many place names incorporate the word "Ellenberg" or variations of it, such as "Ellenbogen." These names likely referred to locations with hills or elevated terrain.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in a 14th-century manuscript from the town of Ellenberg, located in the Bavarian region of Franconia. This document mentions a certain "Johannes Ellenberger," who was likely a resident of or associated with the town.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, as the German population began to spread across Europe, the Ellenberger surname started to appear in various records and documents in other regions. For example, in 1612, a man named Hans Ellenberger was documented as a resident of the city of Nuremberg.

In the 18th century, the name gained some prominence with the birth of Johann Christoph Ellenberger (1718-1784), a German architect and engineer known for his work on several notable buildings in the city of Dresden. Another notable figure was Friedrich Wilhelm Ellenberger (1825-1891), a German veterinarian and author who made significant contributions to the field of veterinary medicine.

In the 19th century, the Ellenberger surname continued to spread across Europe and beyond. One notable figure from this period was Christian Friedrich Ellenberger (1804-1876), a German-American farmer and politician who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in the 1860s.

As the 20th century dawned, the Ellenberger name gained further recognition with individuals like Wilhelm Ellenberger (1848-1929), a German veterinary anatomist and author of several influential textbooks on veterinary anatomy. Another notable figure was Hermann Ellenberger (1873-1963), a German-American architect who designed numerous buildings in the state of Wisconsin.

Throughout its history, the Ellenberger surname has been associated with various professions, including architecture, engineering, veterinary medicine, politics, and agriculture. While its origins can be traced back to the hills and elevated terrain of Bavaria, the name has since spread worldwide, carried by generations of individuals with diverse backgrounds and accomplishments.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ellenberger

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

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 Ellenberger was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 95.70% 2,514
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 1.03% 27
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.10% 29
Hispanic Origin 1.75% 46

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 Ellenberger has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 95.70% 97.58% -1.95%
Black (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.03% 0.31% 107.46%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 0.36% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.10% 0.85% 25.64%
Hispanic 1.75% 0.90% 64.15%

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 Ellenberger was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Ellenberger last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 26, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/ellenberger-surname-popularity/.

"Ellenberger last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/ellenberger-surname-popularity/. Accessed 26 December, 2024

Ellenberger last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/ellenberger-surname-popularity/.

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