2010
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Gaertig
A surname of German origin meaning "from the vegetable garden".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 114 Americans carry the last name Gaertig. That puts it at #156,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,006,617 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gaertig 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
114
1 in 3,006,617
Census rank
#156,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 99 bearers of the surname Gaertig in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaertig, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gaertig
The surname Gaertig is of German origin, first appearing in historical records in the late 15th century. It is thought to have originated from a place name, possibly derived from the Old High German word "gart," meaning "enclosure" or "garden." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near or worked in a garden or enclosed area.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Gaertig name was Hans Gaertig, a farmer who lived in the village of Oberammergau in Bavaria in the early 1500s. Records from this time also show variations in the spelling, such as Gartig and Gartich.
In the 16th century, the Gaertig name appeared in the tax records of the city of Nuremberg, indicating that members of the family had moved to urban areas. Johann Gaertig, a merchant born in Nuremberg in 1567, is mentioned in several trade documents from the period.
During the 17th century, the Gaertig name spread to other regions of Germany. In 1624, a record from the town of Wittenberg mentions a blacksmith named Peter Gaertig. Around the same time, a family by the name of Gaertig settled in the small village of Freienhagen in Hesse, where they owned a farm.
One notable bearer of the Gaertig name was Friedrich Gaertig, a Protestant theologian born in Leipzig in 1701. He studied at the University of Leipzig and later became a professor of theology at the University of Halle. His published works include several treatises on biblical exegesis and church history.
Another prominent figure with the Gaertig surname was Johanna Gaertig, a writer and educator who lived in Berlin in the late 19th century. Born in 1845, she wrote several novels and short stories that explored themes of women's rights and social issues. She also founded a school for girls in Berlin and was active in various educational initiatives.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gaertig
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaertig, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Gaertig 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 Gaertig surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 99
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gaertig
Gaertig appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#156,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 99
-3 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 2,427 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #156,005 | 99 | 0.03 | -3 bearers (-2.9%) | Up 2,427 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 Gaertig 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 | #158,432 | #156,005 | 1.5% |
| Count | 102 | 99 | -2.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 10.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gaertig bearers went from 102 to 99 (-2.9% change). The surname moved up 2,427 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #156,005.
FAQ
Gaertig surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gaertig?
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the surname Gaertig. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,006,617 residents.
How common is Gaertig?
Gaertig ranks #156,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 99 people with the surname Gaertig. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (114), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Gaertig.
Has Gaertig become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gaertig went from 102 recorded bearers to 99. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #156,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Gaertig?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaertig, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Gaertig in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (99 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gaertig appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Gaertig (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 Gaertig mean?
A surname of German origin meaning "from the vegetable garden". 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 Gaertig (0.03 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 common is the surname Gaertig?
Want to know how many people are called Gaertig? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.