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

Goldberg, 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 Goldberg surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Goldberg in America

Goldberg is the 1193rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Goldberg surname appeared 29,603 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 10 people would have the surname Goldberg.

We can also compare 2010 data for Goldberg 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.

The history of the last name Goldberg

The surname Goldberg has its origins in the German language, with the earliest known records dating back to the 16th century in various regions of modern-day Germany. The name is derived from the combination of the German words "gold" meaning gold, and "berg" meaning mountain or hill, suggesting a connection to a place or location with a golden mountain or hill.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the baptismal records of the city of Nuremberg in 1558, where a certain Hans Goldberg is mentioned. Additionally, records from the town of Görlitz in Saxony show a family by the name of Goldberg residing there in the late 16th century.

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the surname Goldberg began to spread across various German-speaking regions, appearing in documents and records from cities and towns such as Leipzig, Dresden, and Frankfurt. During this period, several notable individuals bearing the Goldberg name emerged, including Johann Gottlieb Goldberg (1727-1756), a renowned German composer and musician best known for the famous "Goldberg Variations" composed by Johann Sebastian Bach.

As the 19th century dawned, the Goldberg name gained prominence in various fields. One notable figure was the German mathematician and astronomer Ludwig Goldberg (1824-1908), who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and the motion of comets. Another individual of note was the German-American writer and philosopher Oskar Goldberg (1885-1952), who explored themes of existentialism and the human condition in his works.

In the 20th century, the Goldberg surname continued to be associated with influential individuals across various disciplines. One such figure was the American architect Bertrand Goldberg (1913-1997), renowned for his innovative architectural designs, including the iconic Marina City complex in Chicago. Another notable bearer of the name was the American psychologist Abraham A. Goldberg (1908-1982), who developed the Goldberg Depression Inventory, a widely used tool for assessing and diagnosing depression.

These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have carried the surname Goldberg, a name that traces its roots back to the German language and its association with a golden mountain or hill.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Goldberg

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

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 Goldberg was:

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

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!