2000
#4,791
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,734
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.50
Rare Last name
Siebert
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "sîde," meaning silk, referring to a silk worker or merchant.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,434 Americans carry the last name Siebert. That puts it at #5,204 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.17 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 46,106 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Siebert 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Siebert with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.4K
1 in 46,106
Census rank
#5,204
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,483 bearers of the surname Siebert in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.17 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5204th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Siebert, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Siebert
The surname Siebert has its origins in the German language and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. The name is believed to have derived from the Germanic personal name Siegbert, which is a combination of the elements "sige," meaning victory, and "beraht," meaning bright or brilliant.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Siebert can be found in various medieval manuscripts and documents from the 12th and 13th centuries. One notable example is the mention of a Siebert von Schönau, a Benedictine monk and visionary who lived in the 12th century in the German region of the Rhineland.
In the 14th century, the Siebert name appeared in various records from the city of Cologne, which was a major center of trade and commerce during that time. It is likely that the name spread from this region to other parts of Germany and neighboring countries.
The name Siebert has also been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One example is Johannes Siebert (1494-1568), a German Lutheran theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation. Another noteworthy figure is Johann Friedrich Siebert (1775-1846), a German philologist and professor known for his contributions to the study of ancient languages.
In the 19th century, the surname Siebert gained prominence with the birth of August Ferdinand Siebert (1830-1904), a German-American botanist and educator who made significant contributions to the field of plant taxonomy. He served as a professor at the University of Wisconsin and helped establish the state's herbarium.
The name Siebert has also been associated with various place names and locations throughout Germany. For instance, the town of Siebenborn in the state of Hesse is believed to have derived its name from the Siebert surname.
While the Siebert name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly in regions with significant German immigration. However, the majority of historical records and notable individuals associated with this surname can be traced back to its Germanic origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Siebert
Among Census respondents with the surname Siebert, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Siebert 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 Siebert surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.7% · 5,880
- Two or more races3.0% · 192
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 179
- Black or African American2.4% · 157
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 66
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Siebert
Siebert 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
#5,059
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,932
+198 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 2.35
Rank movement Down 268 places
2020
#5,204
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,483
-449 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 2.17
Rank movement Down 145 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,791 | 6,734 | 2.50 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,059 | 6,932 | 2.35 | +198 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 268 places |
| 2020 | #5,204 | 6,483 | 2.17 | -449 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 145 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 Siebert 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 | #5,059 | #5,204 | -2.9% |
| Count | 6,932 | 6,483 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.35 | 2.17 | -7.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Siebert bearers went from 6,932 to 6,483 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 145 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,059 to #5,204.
FAQ
Siebert surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Siebert?
Name Census estimates that about 7,434 living Americans carry the surname Siebert. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 46,106 residents.
How common is Siebert?
Siebert ranks #5,204 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.17 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,483 people with the surname Siebert. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,434), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.17 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Siebert.
Has Siebert become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Siebert went from 6,932 recorded bearers to 6,483. That is a decrease of 449 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,059 to #5,204.
What does the Census say about the background of Siebert?
Among Census respondents with the surname Siebert, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Siebert in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (5,880 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Siebert appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.7%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Siebert (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 Siebert mean?
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "sîde," meaning silk, referring to a silk worker or merchant. 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 Siebert (2.17 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 Siebert?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.