2000
#9,408
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,173
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.18
Rare Last name
Jurgens
A patronymic surname of Dutch or German origin meaning "son of George."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,459 Americans carry the last name Jurgens. That puts it at #10,175 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.01 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 99,091 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jurgens 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
3.5K
1 in 99,091
Census rank
#10,175
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,016 bearers of the surname Jurgens in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.01 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10175th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jurgens, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Jurgens
The surname Jurgens has its origins in the Low German and Dutch languages, and it first appeared in the Netherlands and northern Germany during the early Middle Ages. The name is derived from the Germanic personal name Jurgen, a diminutive form of the name George, which itself comes from the Greek name Georgios, meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker."
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Jurgens can be found in the Ename Chronicles, a 12th-century manuscript from the Abbey of Ename in present-day Belgium, which refers to a knight named Jurgen van Waesmunster who fought in the Crusades. Another early reference is in the Domesday Book of 1086, which lists a landowner named Jurgen in the county of Suffolk, England.
In the 13th century, a Dutch merchant named Jurgen van Antwerpen was instrumental in establishing trade routes between the Netherlands and England, and his descendants continued to use the Jurgens name. During the same period, a German nobleman named Jurgen von Halberstadt was a prominent figure in the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II.
As the Jurgens name spread across Europe, it took on various spellings, such as Jürgens, Juergens, and Jurgensen, reflecting regional linguistic variations. In the 16th century, a Danish astronomer named Jurgen Burrau made significant contributions to the study of comets and celestial mechanics. In the 18th century, a German composer named Jurgen Praetorius was known for his church music and organ compositions.
One of the most notable individuals with the Jurgens surname was the Dutch-born American businessman and philanthropist Thomas P. Jurgens (1856-1926), who made his fortune in the tobacco industry and later donated much of his wealth to educational and cultural institutions in the United States.
Other notable people with the Jurgens surname include the German writer and poet Alfred Jurgens (1887-1944), the Dutch painter and engraver Johannes Jurgens (1905-1995), and the American actress and singer Trina McGee-Jurgens (born 1975).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jurgens
Among Census respondents with the surname Jurgens, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Jurgens 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 Jurgens surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 2,786
- Two or more races3.5% · 107
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 82
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 20
- Black or African American0.5% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jurgens
Jurgens 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
#9,969
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,235
+62 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 1.10
Rank movement Down 561 places
2020
#10,175
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,016
-219 bearers (-6.8%)
Per 100,000 1.01
Rank movement Down 206 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,408 | 3,173 | 1.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,969 | 3,235 | 1.10 | +62 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 561 places |
| 2020 | #10,175 | 3,016 | 1.01 | -219 bearers (-6.8%) | Down 206 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 Jurgens 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 | #9,969 | #10,175 | -2.1% |
| Count | 3,235 | 3,016 | -6.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.10 | 1.01 | -8.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jurgens bearers went from 3,235 to 3,016 (-6.8% change). The surname moved down 206 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,969 to #10,175.
FAQ
Jurgens surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jurgens?
Name Census estimates that about 3,459 living Americans carry the surname Jurgens. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 99,091 residents.
How common is Jurgens?
Jurgens ranks #10,175 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.01 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 3,016 people with the surname Jurgens. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,459), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.01 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.01 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 Jurgens.
Has Jurgens become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jurgens went from 3,235 recorded bearers to 3,016. That is a decrease of 219 (-6.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,969 to #10,175.
What does the Census say about the background of Jurgens?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jurgens, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (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 Jurgens in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (2,786 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jurgens appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (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 Jurgens (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 Jurgens mean?
A patronymic surname of Dutch or German origin meaning "son of George." 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 Jurgens (1.01 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 Jurgens?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.