2000
#8,479
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,579
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.33
Rare Last name
Priebe
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname derived from the Slavic word "priby," meaning "newcomer" or "one who arrived."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,957 Americans carry the last name Priebe. That puts it at #9,097 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 86,620 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Priebe 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
4.0K
1 in 86,620
Census rank
#9,097
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,451 bearers of the surname Priebe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9097th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Priebe, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Priebe
The surname Priebe is of German origin and can be traced back to the 14th century. It originated in the region of Pomerania, which is now divided between modern-day Germany and Poland. The name is derived from the Old Prussian word "pribie" or "pribe", meaning "near" or "close by".
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Priebe can be found in the municipal archives of Stralsund, a town in Pomerania, where a certain Hans Priebe is mentioned in a document dated 1387. The name also appears in various medieval records and manuscripts from the Pomeranian region, often in slightly different spellings such as Priebe, Pribe, or Pribben.
During the 15th century, the Priebe family established themselves as prominent landowners and merchants in the Duchy of Pomerania. In 1491, a Heinrich Priebe is recorded as having purchased a large estate near the town of Greifenhagen (now Gryfino, Poland).
The surname Priebe has been associated with several notable figures throughout history. In the 17th century, Johann Priebe (1615-1675) was a renowned Lutheran theologian and professor at the University of Greifswald. His son, Matthias Priebe (1644-1722), followed in his footsteps and became a respected clergyman and author of several theological works.
In the 19th century, Karl Priebe (1826-1885) was a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin, including the Reichstag building. Another notable bearer of the name was the German naval officer and explorer Eduard Priebe (1834-1898), who participated in several scientific expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
More recently, the German-American artist and designer Herbert Priebe (1924-2005) gained recognition for his avant-garde furniture designs and his work as a professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Throughout its long history, the surname Priebe has been associated with various place names and locales in the Pomeranian region, such as Priebensee, Priebitz, and Priebitz-Vorwerk, reflecting the name's origins and the family's presence in these areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Priebe
Among Census respondents with the surname Priebe, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Priebe 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 Priebe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.4% · 3,223
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 127
- Two or more races2.1% · 71
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 19
- Black or African American0.2% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Priebe
Priebe 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
#9,150
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,565
-14 bearers (-0.4%)
Per 100,000 1.21
Rank movement Down 671 places
2020
#9,097
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,451
-114 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 1.15
Rank movement Up 53 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,479 | 3,579 | 1.33 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,150 | 3,565 | 1.21 | -14 bearers (-0.4%) | Down 671 places |
| 2020 | #9,097 | 3,451 | 1.15 | -114 bearers (-3.2%) | Up 53 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 Priebe 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 | #9,150 | #9,097 | 0.6% |
| Count | 3,565 | 3,451 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.21 | 1.15 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Priebe bearers went from 3,565 to 3,451 (-3.2% change). The surname moved up 53 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,150 to #9,097.
FAQ
Priebe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Priebe?
Name Census estimates that about 3,957 living Americans carry the surname Priebe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 86,620 residents.
How common is Priebe?
Priebe ranks #9,097 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.15 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 3,451 people with the surname Priebe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,957), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.15 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 Priebe.
Has Priebe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Priebe went from 3,565 recorded bearers to 3,451. That is a decrease of 114 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,150 to #9,097.
What does the Census say about the background of Priebe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Priebe, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Priebe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.4% (3,223 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Priebe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.4%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Priebe (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 Priebe mean?
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname derived from the Slavic word "priby," meaning "newcomer" or "one who arrived." 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 Priebe (1.15 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 are called Priebe?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Priebe is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.