2000
#124,872
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Schwarberg
A German surname derived from the words "schwarz" meaning black and "Berg" meaning mountain or hill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Schwarberg. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schwarberg 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Schwarberg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schwarberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Black (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schwarberg
The surname Schwarberg is of German origin and can be traced back to the 14th century. It is derived from the German words "schwarz" meaning black and "berg" meaning hill or mountain. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a black hill or a dark, forested mountain region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Schwarberg can be found in a 1398 tax record from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria, where a certain Hans Schwarberg is mentioned as a resident. This indicates that the name was already established in this region by the late medieval period.
In the 16th century, the name appeared in various church records and legal documents from other parts of southern Germany, such as Württemberg and Baden-Württemberg. Variations in spelling at the time included Schwarburg, Schwartberg, and Schwarzberg.
A notable early bearer of the name was Johann Schwarberg, a Protestant minister and theologian born in Schwäbisch Hall, Württemberg, in 1585. He is known for his influential sermons and writings on various aspects of Lutheranism during the Reformation era.
During the 17th century, the Schwarberg name spread to other regions of Germany, with records showing individuals with this surname living in areas such as Saxony and Thuringia. One example is Hans Georg Schwarberg, a merchant and landowner from Leipzig who lived from 1632 to 1706.
In the 18th century, a branch of the Schwarberg family settled in the Palatinate region of southwestern Germany. Friedrich Schwarberg, born in 1718 in Mannheim, was a prominent jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge in the court of the Elector Palatine.
As the centuries progressed, the name Schwarberg continued to be found in various parts of Germany, as well as in regions with significant German immigration, such as parts of Eastern Europe and North America. Some notable individuals with this surname include the German writer and journalist Günter Schwarberg, born in 1938, and the American baseball player Kyle Schwarber, born in 1993.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schwarberg
Among Census respondents with the surname Schwarberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Black (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Schwarberg 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 Schwarberg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.0% · 99
- Two or more races3.6% · 4
- Black or African American2.7% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schwarberg
Schwarberg 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
#150,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-18 bearers (-14.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 25,580 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,006 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #124,872 | 127 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #150,452 | 109 | 0.04 | -18 bearers (-14.2%) | Down 25,580 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Up 1,006 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 Schwarberg 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 | #149,446 | 0.7% |
| Count | 109 | 110 | 0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schwarberg bearers went from 109 to 110 (+0.9% change). The surname moved up 1,006 positions in the national ranking, going from #150,452 to #149,446.
FAQ
Schwarberg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schwarberg?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Schwarberg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Schwarberg?
Schwarberg ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 110 people with the surname Schwarberg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Schwarberg.
Has Schwarberg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schwarberg went from 109 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 1 (+0.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #150,452 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Schwarberg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schwarberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Black (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 Schwarberg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (99 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schwarberg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.0%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Black (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 Schwarberg (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 Schwarberg mean?
A German surname derived from the words "schwarz" meaning black and "Berg" meaning mountain or hill. 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 Schwarberg (0.04 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 Schwarberg?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.