2000
#148,244
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Garberding
A habitational name from a place in Lower Saxony.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Garberding. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Garberding 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Garberding in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Garberding, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.5%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Garberding
The surname Garberding is believed to have originated in northern Germany, specifically in the region of Lower Saxony, during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old German words "garbe" meaning "sheaf" and "ding" meaning "thing" or "assembly," suggesting a possible connection to agricultural activities or communal gatherings.
The earliest known records of the name date back to the 13th century, with mentions of individuals bearing variations such as Garberdinghe and Garberdynge in local parish records and land registries. One notable entry from 1287 documents a landowner named Henricus Garberdinghe in the town of Osnabrück.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the city of Bremen. A merchant named Johann Garberding is recorded as participating in trade activities with the Hanseatic League in 1342.
During the 15th century, the name spread to neighboring regions, including Westphalia and the Rhineland. In 1483, a manuscript from the city of Cologne mentions a court scribe named Gerhard Garberding, indicating the family's presence in urban centers.
One notable figure associated with the name is Hans Garberding, a 16th-century Protestant reformer and theologian from Lübeck. Born in 1518, he played a significant role in the Reformation movement in northern Germany and authored several religious treatises before his death in 1592.
In the 17th century, the surname can be found in various church records and tax rolls across northern Germany. A prominent individual from this period was Johann Garberding, a Lutheran pastor born in 1625 in the town of Hannover, who authored several theological works and served as a rector at the Johannisschule in Lüneburg until his death in 1697.
As the name spread through migration and population movements, it also appeared in other regions of Europe and eventually made its way to other parts of the world, particularly through German immigration to North America and other continents in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Garberding
Among Census respondents with the surname Garberding, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.5%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Garberding 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 Garberding surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.7% · 98
- Hispanic or Latino6.5% · 7
- Two or more races1.9% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Garberding
Garberding 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
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+17 bearers (+16.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,087 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-11 bearers (-9.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,778 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #148,244 | 102 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | +17 bearers (+16.7%) | Up 8,087 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-9.2%) | Down 10,778 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 Garberding 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 | #140,157 | #150,935 | -7.7% |
| Count | 119 | 108 | -9.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Garberding bearers went from 119 to 108 (-9.2% change). The surname moved down 10,778 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #150,935.
FAQ
Garberding surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Garberding?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Garberding. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Garberding?
Garberding ranks #150,935 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 108 people with the surname Garberding. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), 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 Garberding.
Has Garberding become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Garberding went from 119 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 11 (-9.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Garberding?
Among Census respondents with the surname Garberding, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.5%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Garberding in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Garberding appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.7%), Hispanic (6.5%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Garberding (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 Garberding mean?
A habitational name from a place in Lower Saxony. 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 Garberding (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 have the last name Garberding?
Want to know how many people are called Garberding? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.