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

Goldberger, 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 Goldberger surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Goldberger in America

Goldberger is the 14268th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Goldberger surname appeared 2,099 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 Goldberger.

We can also compare 2010 data for Goldberger 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 Goldberger

The surname Goldberger is of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, with its roots tracing back to the Yiddish language spoken by Jews in Central and Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages. The name is a combination of the German words "gold," meaning gold, and "berg," meaning mountain or hill.

The earliest recorded instances of the Goldberger surname can be found in German-speaking regions of Europe, particularly in areas with significant Jewish communities, such as modern-day Germany, Austria, and Poland. The name likely emerged as a descriptive moniker, referring to an individual who lived near a golden or gilded mountain or hill, or perhaps someone who worked in the mining or gold trade.

Historical records from the 16th and 17th centuries mention Goldbergers living in various cities and towns across Germany and Poland. One notable early figure was Nathan Goldberger, a prominent rabbi and scholar who lived in the city of Frankfurt am Main in the late 16th century.

In the 18th century, the Goldberger surname spread further across Europe as Jewish communities migrated and established themselves in new regions. During this period, the name appeared in various spellings, such as Goldberger, Goldbergar, and Goldberg, reflecting local linguistic variations.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the Goldberger surname can be found in the records of the Jewish community in the town of Kraków, Poland, where a family by the name of Goldberger is documented as residing in the late 17th century.

In the 19th century, as Jews gained greater freedom of movement and opportunities for education and employment, the Goldberger name became more widely dispersed. Notable individuals bearing this surname include:

1. Abraham Goldberger (1799-1867), a Hungarian-born Jewish scholar and author who wrote extensively on Jewish law and philosophy.
2. Hermann Goldberger (1860-1929), an Austrian industrialist and philanthropist who founded the Goldberger textile company.
3. Joseph Goldberger (1874-1929), an American physician and epidemiologist renowned for his groundbreaking work on pellagra and other nutritional diseases.
4. Marvin Goldberger (1922-2014), an American physicist and university administrator who served as the president of the California Institute of Technology from 1978 to 1987.
5. Paul Goldberger (born 1950), an American architectural critic and author who has written for publications such as The New York Times and The New Yorker.

While the Goldberger surname has its roots in Central and Eastern Europe, it has since spread to various parts of the world, carried by Jewish diaspora communities and individuals seeking new opportunities and lives.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Goldberger

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

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

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

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