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

Nager, 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 Nager surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nager in America

Nager is the 49824th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nager surname appeared 421 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Nager.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nager 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 Nager

The surname NAGER has its origins in Germany, emerging in the 13th century. It is derived from the Old German word "nagen," which means "to gnaw" or "to nibble." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who had a habit of biting their nails or who worked as a woodcarver or carpenter, occupations that involved gnawing or nibbling at wood.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name NAGER can be found in the medieval German manuscript "Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus" from the year 1275. In this document, a person named "Henricus Nager" is mentioned as a witness to a legal transaction.

The NAGER surname also appears in the historical records of the city of Nuremberg, where a family with this name resided in the 15th century. A notable member of this family was Hans Nager, a respected goldsmith who lived from 1420 to 1485.

In the 16th century, the name NAGER was found in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where a prominent citizen named Martin Nager (1528-1603) served as a town councilor and merchant.

Another historical figure with the surname NAGER was Johann Georg Nager, a German theologian and author who lived from 1647 to 1719. He wrote several religious texts and served as a pastor in various churches in Germany.

In the 18th century, the NAGER name was associated with the village of Nagersdorf in Bavaria. It is believed that this place name may have derived from the surname, indicating that a family with the name NAGER may have been among the original settlers of the area.

Throughout the centuries, the NAGER surname has also been recorded with various spelling variations, such as Naeger, Näger, and Negger, reflecting the regional dialects and language changes over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nager

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

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

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

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