2010
#150,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Saltenberger
A habitational surname indicating someone from Salzburg, Austria or nearby.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 114 Americans carry the last name Saltenberger. That puts it at #156,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,006,617 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Saltenberger 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
114
1 in 3,006,617
Census rank
#156,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 99 bearers of the surname Saltenberger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Saltenberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Saltenberger
The surname Saltenberger has its origins in Germany, dating back to the medieval period around the 12th century. It is derived from the Old German words "salz" meaning salt and "berg" meaning mountain or hill, likely referring to a geographical location where salt was mined or traded.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Saltenberger can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from the Kingdom of Saxony, which mentions a person named Saltenberger in the year 1289.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the name was particularly prevalent in the German states of Saxony and Thuringia, where several families bearing the name Saltenberger were recorded in local chronicles and land registers.
In the 15th century, a notable figure named Hans Saltenberger (1430-1488) was a prominent merchant and landowner in the town of Freiberg, Saxony, known for his involvement in the local salt trade.
Another individual of historical significance was Johann Saltenberger (1567-1624), a Lutheran theologian and author who served as the rector of the University of Jena and wrote several influential works on theology and philosophy.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Saltenberger began to spread to other regions of Germany, as well as neighboring countries like Austria and Switzerland, due to migration and trade.
One notable bearer of the name was Maria Saltenberger (1718-1792), a German writer and poet from Nuremberg, whose works were widely read and acclaimed during the Enlightenment period.
In the 19th century, a prominent figure named Friedrich Saltenberger (1822-1892) was a renowned architect and urban planner who contributed to the design and development of several cities in Germany, including Berlin and Munich.
The name Saltenberger has also been found in historical records from other European countries, such as France and the Netherlands, likely due to migration and intermarriage between families over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Saltenberger
Among Census respondents with the surname Saltenberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Saltenberger 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 Saltenberger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.9% · 85
- Hispanic or Latino8.1% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native5.1% · 5
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Saltenberger
Saltenberger appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#156,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 99
-10 bearers (-9.2%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 5,553 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #150,452 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #156,005 | 99 | 0.03 | -10 bearers (-9.2%) | Down 5,553 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 Saltenberger 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 | #150,452 | #156,005 | -3.7% |
| Count | 109 | 99 | -9.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -17.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Saltenberger bearers went from 109 to 99 (-9.2% change). The surname moved down 5,553 positions in the national ranking, going from #150,452 to #156,005.
FAQ
Saltenberger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Saltenberger?
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the surname Saltenberger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,006,617 residents.
How common is Saltenberger?
Saltenberger ranks #156,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 99 people with the surname Saltenberger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (114), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Saltenberger.
Has Saltenberger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Saltenberger went from 109 recorded bearers to 99. That is a decrease of 10 (-9.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #150,452 to #156,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Saltenberger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Saltenberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (5.1%). 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 Saltenberger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.9% (85 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Saltenberger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.9%), Hispanic (8.1%), American Indian/Alaska Native (5.1%). 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 Saltenberger (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 Saltenberger mean?
A habitational surname indicating someone from Salzburg, Austria or nearby. 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 Saltenberger (0.03 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 share the surname Saltenberger?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.