2000
#10,566
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,787
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.03
Rare Last name
Greenbaum
A Jewish surname referring to a person who lived near a green tree or in a green space.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,009 Americans carry the last name Greenbaum. That puts it at #11,480 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 113,910 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Greenbaum 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Greenbaum with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.0K
1 in 113,910
Census rank
#11,480
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,624 bearers of the surname Greenbaum in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11480th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Greenbaum, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Greenbaum
The surname Greenbaum is of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, derived from the German words "grün" meaning green and "baum" meaning tree. It is believed to have originated in the late 16th or early 17th century in Central Europe, likely in areas such as modern-day Germany, Poland, or Austria.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Greenbaum can be found in the register of the Jewish community of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, where a certain Jacob Greenbaum is mentioned in the year 1616. Other early records include Samuel Greenbaum, who was listed in the census of the Jewish community of Krakow, Poland, in 1670.
The name Greenbaum may have initially been used as a descriptive surname, possibly referring to someone who lived near a green or leafy tree, or perhaps someone who worked with trees or in the forestry industry. It is also possible that the name was adopted as a symbolic representation of the Tree of Life, a significant concept in Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah.
In the 18th century, the surname Greenbaum began to appear more frequently in various regions of Central and Eastern Europe. Notable individuals from this period include Rabbi Eliezer Greenbaum (1708-1782), a prominent scholar and author from Krakow, Poland, and Shlomo Greenbaum (1744-1819), a respected rabbi and Talmudic scholar from Frankfurt, Germany.
As the Jewish diaspora spread across Europe and eventually to other parts of the world, the Greenbaum surname traveled with them. In the 19th century, there were Greenbaums living in various parts of Europe, as well as in the United States and other countries.
One notable individual from this period was Samuel Greenbaum (1854-1934), a successful businessman and philanthropist from New York City, who was involved in various charitable organizations and was a major supporter of Jewish causes.
In the 20th century, the Greenbaum name continued to be well-represented in various fields. Some notable individuals include:
1. Alfred Greenbaum (1901-1970), an American film producer and executive who worked for major studios such as Warner Bros. and MGM.
2. Moshe Greenbaum (1904-1986), an Israeli politician and member of the Knesset, who served as the Minister of the Interior from 1961 to 1965.
3. Edward S. Greenbaum (1923-2003), an American lawyer and civil rights activist, who played a significant role in the desegregation of public schools in the United States.
4. Victor Greenbaum (1930-2005), a British chemist and academic, known for his contributions to the field of spectroscopy and molecular structure analysis.
5. Judith Greenbaum (born 1943), an American anthropologist and professor, whose research focused on issues of gender, labor, and globalization in various parts of the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Greenbaum
Among Census respondents with the surname Greenbaum, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Greenbaum 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 Greenbaum surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 2,446
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 74
- Two or more races2.4% · 64
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 25
- Black or African American0.5% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Greenbaum
Greenbaum 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
#11,456
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,750
-37 bearers (-1.3%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Down 890 places
2020
#11,480
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,624
-126 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 24 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,566 | 2,787 | 1.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,456 | 2,750 | 0.93 | -37 bearers (-1.3%) | Down 890 places |
| 2020 | #11,480 | 2,624 | 0.88 | -126 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 24 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 Greenbaum 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 | #11,456 | #11,480 | -0.2% |
| Count | 2,750 | 2,624 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.93 | 0.88 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Greenbaum bearers went from 2,750 to 2,624 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 24 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,456 to #11,480.
FAQ
Greenbaum surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Greenbaum?
Name Census estimates that about 3,009 living Americans carry the surname Greenbaum. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 113,910 residents.
How common is Greenbaum?
Greenbaum ranks #11,480 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.88 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 2,624 people with the surname Greenbaum. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,009), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.88 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 Greenbaum.
Has Greenbaum become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Greenbaum went from 2,750 recorded bearers to 2,624. That is a decrease of 126 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,456 to #11,480.
What does the Census say about the background of Greenbaum?
Among Census respondents with the surname Greenbaum, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Greenbaum in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (2,446 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Greenbaum appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Hispanic (2.8%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Greenbaum (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 Greenbaum mean?
A Jewish surname referring to a person who lived near a green tree or in a green space. 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 Greenbaum (0.88 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 Americans have the surname Greenbaum?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.