2000
#6,629
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,708
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.75
Rare Last name
Feinberg
A German and Jewish surname meaning "fine mountain," referring to someone who lived near a small, pleasant mountain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,900 Americans carry the last name Feinberg. That puts it at #7,517 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.43 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 69,950 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Feinberg 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
4.9K
1 in 69,950
Census rank
#7,517
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,273 bearers of the surname Feinberg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.43 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7517th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Feinberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Feinberg
The surname FEINBERG is of Ashkenazic Jewish origin. It is derived from the German and Yiddish words "fein" meaning "fine" or "delicate" and "berg" meaning "mountain" or "hill". This combination suggests that the name may have originated as a descriptive nickname for someone who lived in a hilly or mountainous area that was considered pleasant or delightful.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname FEINBERG can be traced back to the 17th and 18th centuries in Germany and Eastern Europe, particularly in areas with significant Jewish populations such as Poland, Ukraine, and Russia. The name was likely adopted as a fixed surname during this period, as Jews in many parts of Europe were required to take on permanent family names.
One of the earliest recorded references to the FEINBERG surname can be found in the 1765 census of the Jewish community in the town of Płock, Poland, which lists a family with the surname FEINBERG. Another early record dates back to 1820 in the town of Grodno, now part of Belarus, where a FEINBERG family is mentioned in a local registry.
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, many FEINBERG families emigrated from Eastern Europe to other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and South America, often due to economic hardship or persecution. Notable individuals with the FEINBERG surname include:
1. Irwin Feinberg (1895-1968), an American lawyer and judge who served on the New York Supreme Court.
2. Eugene Feinberg (1888-1972), a Russian-American composer and pianist known for his works in the classical and jazz genres.
3. Samuel Feinberg (1890-1975), a Russian-American pianist and pedagogue who taught at the Moscow Conservatory.
4. Abraham Feinberg (1899-1986), a Polish-American author and journalist who wrote extensively about Jewish culture and history.
5. Joel Feinberg (1926-2004), an American philosopher known for his work on legal and political philosophy, particularly in the areas of rights, justice, and freedom.
While the FEINBERG surname is not among the most common Jewish surnames, it has a rich history spanning several centuries and can be found in Jewish communities around the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Feinberg
Among Census respondents with the surname Feinberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Feinberg 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 Feinberg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 3,952
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 147
- Two or more races2.3% · 99
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 54
- Black or African American0.5% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Feinberg
Feinberg 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
#7,255
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,596
-112 bearers (-2.4%)
Per 100,000 1.56
Rank movement Down 626 places
2020
#7,517
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,273
-323 bearers (-7.0%)
Per 100,000 1.43
Rank movement Down 262 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,629 | 4,708 | 1.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,255 | 4,596 | 1.56 | -112 bearers (-2.4%) | Down 626 places |
| 2020 | #7,517 | 4,273 | 1.43 | -323 bearers (-7.0%) | Down 262 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 Feinberg 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 | #7,255 | #7,517 | -3.6% |
| Count | 4,596 | 4,273 | -7.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.56 | 1.43 | -8.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Feinberg bearers went from 4,596 to 4,273 (-7.0% change). The surname moved down 262 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,255 to #7,517.
FAQ
Feinberg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Feinberg?
Name Census estimates that about 4,900 living Americans carry the surname Feinberg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 69,950 residents.
How common is Feinberg?
Feinberg ranks #7,517 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.43 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 4,273 people with the surname Feinberg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,900), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.43 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.43 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 Feinberg.
Has Feinberg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Feinberg went from 4,596 recorded bearers to 4,273. That is a decrease of 323 (-7.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,255 to #7,517.
What does the Census say about the background of Feinberg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Feinberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Feinberg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (3,952 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Feinberg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Feinberg (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 Feinberg mean?
A German and Jewish surname meaning "fine mountain," referring to someone who lived near a small, pleasant mountain. 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 Feinberg (1.43 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 Feinberg?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.