2000
#2,387
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,903
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.15
Uncommon Last name
Gruber
A surname of German origin referring to someone who lived in a pit or hollow.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,567 Americans carry the last name Gruber. That puts it at #2,598 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.54 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 22,018 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gruber 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 Gruber with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
16K
1 in 22,018
Census rank
#2,598
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,575 bearers of the surname Gruber in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.54 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2598th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gruber, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gruber
The surname Gruber originated in the German-speaking regions of Europe, likely in Germany or Austria, sometime during the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the Middle High German word "gruobe," which means "pit" or "quarry." This suggests that the earliest bearers of the name may have lived near or worked in a quarry.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gruber can be found in the Codex Traditionum Monasterii Sancti Petri, a 12th-century manuscript from the Benedictine monastery of St. Peter in Salzburg, Austria. The document mentions a certain "Gruber" who was a landowner in the region.
In the 13th century, a nobleman named Konrad Gruber is mentioned in the Chronica Monasterii Campililiensis, a chronicle of the Cistercian abbey of Kamp in Lower Austria. This suggests that the name had already established itself among the nobility by this time.
The name Gruber is also connected to various place names in German-speaking areas. For example, the village of Gruber in the Bavarian district of Traunstein is likely named after an early settler with the surname Gruber.
One of the most famous individuals with the surname Gruber was Franz Xaver Gruber (1787-1863), an Austrian primary school teacher and church organist who composed the beloved Christmas carol "Silent Night" in 1818, with lyrics by Joseph Mohr.
Other notable individuals with the surname Gruber include:
1. Johann Gruber (1623-1680), an Austrian Jesuit mathematician and astronomer.
2. Johann Gottfried Gruber (1774-1851), a German encyclopedist and author of the Allgemeine Encyklopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste.
3. Max von Gruber (1853-1927), an Austrian pathologist and bacteriologist.
4. Hermann Gruber (1891-1975), a German stage and film actor.
5. Ruth Gruber (1911-2016), an American journalist and humanitarian who helped escort Holocaust survivors to the United States after World War II.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gruber
Among Census respondents with the surname Gruber, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Gruber 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 Gruber surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 12,443
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 448
- Two or more races2.7% · 369
- Black or African American0.9% · 120
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 98
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 97
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gruber
Gruber 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
#2,558
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,131
+228 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 4.79
Rank movement Down 171 places
2020
#2,598
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,575
-556 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 4.54
Rank movement Down 40 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,387 | 13,903 | 5.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,558 | 14,131 | 4.79 | +228 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 171 places |
| 2020 | #2,598 | 13,575 | 4.54 | -556 bearers (-3.9%) | Down 40 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 Gruber 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 | #2,558 | #2,598 | -1.6% |
| Count | 14,131 | 13,575 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 4.79 | 4.54 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gruber bearers went from 14,131 to 13,575 (-3.9% change). The surname moved down 40 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,558 to #2,598.
FAQ
Gruber surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gruber?
Name Census estimates that about 15,567 living Americans carry the surname Gruber. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 22,018 residents.
How common is Gruber?
Gruber ranks #2,598 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.54 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,575 people with the surname Gruber. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,567), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.54 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.54 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Gruber.
Has Gruber become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gruber went from 14,131 recorded bearers to 13,575. That is a decrease of 556 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,558 to #2,598.
What does the Census say about the background of Gruber?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gruber, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Gruber in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (12,443 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gruber appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Gruber (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 Gruber mean?
A surname of German origin referring to someone who lived in a pit or hollow. 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 Gruber (4.54 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 Gruber?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Gruber is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.