2000
#75,695
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 237
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.09
Very Rare Last name
Piepenburg
A regional surname likely derived from a place name in Germany.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 299 Americans carry the last name Piepenburg. That puts it at #78,873 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.09 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,146,336 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Piepenburg 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
299
1 in 1,146,336
Census rank
#78,873
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
261
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 261 bearers of the surname Piepenburg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.09 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 78873rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Piepenburg, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Piepenburg
The surname Piepenburg is of German origin, derived from the Low German words "pipe" and "burg," meaning "pipe" and "fortress" or "castle." It is believed to have originated in the northern regions of Germany during the medieval period, possibly referring to a person who lived near a fortified structure with a pipe or water system.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Piepenburg can be traced back to the 13th century, with references found in various historical documents from northern Germany. One notable mention is in the records of the city of Lübeck, where a merchant named Hans Piepenburg is listed as a resident in 1278.
In the 15th century, the name appears in the "Bürgermatrikel" (citizenship register) of the city of Bremen, where a certain Johann Piepenburg is recorded as a citizen in 1492. This suggests that the family had established itself in different parts of northern Germany by that time.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Piepenburg name can be found in various church records and municipal documents from towns and villages across northern Germany, indicating the family's spread and growth in the region.
One notable figure bearing the Piepenburg surname was Johann Friedrich Piepenburg (1714-1799), a German theologian and philosopher from Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He taught at the University of Rostock and was known for his work on natural theology and the philosophy of religion.
Another individual of note was Wilhelm Piepenburg (1838-1912), a German industrialist and entrepreneur from Hannover. He founded the Piepenburg Brewing Company, which became one of the largest breweries in northern Germany during the late 19th century.
In the 20th century, Hans Piepenburg (1909-1945) was a German soldier who fought in World War II and received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, one of the highest military honors in Nazi Germany, for his service on the Eastern Front.
Other notable figures with the Piepenburg surname include Heinrich Piepenburg (1876-1951), a German painter and illustrator known for his landscapes and portraits, and Helmut Piepenburg (1922-2002), a German politician who served as a member of the Bundestag (the German federal parliament) for several terms.
While the name Piepenburg is relatively uncommon globally, it remains a recognizable surname in parts of northern Germany, particularly in the states of Lower Saxony, Bremen, and Schleswig-Holstein, where it has its historical roots.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Piepenburg
Among Census respondents with the surname Piepenburg, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Piepenburg 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 Piepenburg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.9% · 245
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 10
- Two or more races1.9% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Piepenburg
Piepenburg 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
#72,771
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 267
+30 bearers (+12.7%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Up 2,924 places
2020
#78,873
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 261
-6 bearers (-2.2%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Down 6,102 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #75,695 | 237 | 0.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #72,771 | 267 | 0.09 | +30 bearers (+12.7%) | Up 2,924 places |
| 2020 | #78,873 | 261 | 0.09 | -6 bearers (-2.2%) | Down 6,102 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 Piepenburg 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 | #72,771 | #78,873 | -8.4% |
| Count | 267 | 261 | -2.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.09 | 0.09 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Piepenburg bearers went from 267 to 261 (-2.2% change). The surname moved down 6,102 positions in the national ranking, going from #72,771 to #78,873.
FAQ
Piepenburg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Piepenburg?
Name Census estimates that about 299 living Americans carry the surname Piepenburg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,146,336 residents.
How common is Piepenburg?
Piepenburg ranks #78,873 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.09 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 261 people with the surname Piepenburg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (299), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.09 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.09 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Piepenburg.
Has Piepenburg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Piepenburg went from 267 recorded bearers to 261. That is a decrease of 6 (-2.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #72,771 to #78,873.
What does the Census say about the background of Piepenburg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Piepenburg, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Piepenburg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (245 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Piepenburg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.9%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Piepenburg (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 Piepenburg mean?
A regional surname likely derived from a place name in Germany. 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 Piepenburg (0.09 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 common is the surname Piepenburg?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Piepenburg, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.