2000
#12,634
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,248
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.83
Rare Last name
Silverberg
A Jewish occupational surname referring to someone who worked with silver or was a silversmith.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,233 Americans carry the last name Silverberg. That puts it at #14,669 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.65 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 153,495 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Silverberg 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 Silverberg with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 153,495
Census rank
#14,669
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,947 bearers of the surname Silverberg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.65 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14669th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Silverberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Silverberg
The surname Silverberg is thought to have originated in Germany during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German words 'silber' meaning silver and 'berg' meaning mountain or hill. This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived near a silver mine or worked in silver mining or processing.
One of the earliest known records of the Silverberg name dates back to the 14th century in the town of Nuremberg, which was a major center for metalworking and mining during that time. A man named Hans Silverberg was listed in tax records from 1367 as a silver smelter and metal worker.
In the 16th century, the Silverberg name appeared in various church records and municipal documents throughout southern Germany, particularly in the regions of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Some examples include Martin Silverberg (1523-1589), a Protestant reformer and pastor in Rothenburg, and Anna Silverberg (born 1544), who was listed as a landowner in records from the town of Freiburg.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, as the Silverberg family spread across German-speaking lands, variations in spelling emerged such as Silberberg, Sylverberg, and Zilverberg. Johann Silberberg (1624-1701) was a noted mathematician and astronomer who taught at the University of Strasbourg. Another individual of note was Friedrich Zilverberg (1701-1783), a merchant and banker from Frankfurt.
As the Industrial Revolution took hold in the 19th century, many Silverbergs left Germany and immigrated to other parts of Europe and the Americas in search of new opportunities. One such individual was Carl Silverberg (1805-1879), who settled in Pennsylvania after leaving Bavaria and became a successful industrialist and landowner.
Other notable people with the Silverberg surname include Robert Silverberg (born 1935), an acclaimed American science fiction author, and Barbara Silverberg (1923-2017), a Canadian politician who served as a member of parliament. The name has maintained its presence across various countries and cultures over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Silverberg
Among Census respondents with the surname Silverberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Silverberg 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 Silverberg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 1,816
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 49
- Two or more races1.7% · 33
- Black or African American1.5% · 29
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Silverberg
Silverberg 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
#12,953
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,371
+123 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 319 places
2020
#14,669
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,947
-424 bearers (-17.9%)
Per 100,000 0.65
Rank movement Down 1,716 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,634 | 2,248 | 0.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,953 | 2,371 | 0.80 | +123 bearers (+5.5%) | Down 319 places |
| 2020 | #14,669 | 1,947 | 0.65 | -424 bearers (-17.9%) | Down 1,716 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 Silverberg 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 | #12,953 | #14,669 | -13.2% |
| Count | 2,371 | 1,947 | -17.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.65 | -18.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Silverberg bearers went from 2,371 to 1,947 (-17.9% change). The surname moved down 1,716 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,953 to #14,669.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Silverberg
FAQ
Silverberg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Silverberg?
Name Census estimates that about 2,233 living Americans carry the surname Silverberg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 153,495 residents.
How common is Silverberg?
Silverberg ranks #14,669 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.65 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 1,947 people with the surname Silverberg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,233), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.65 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.65 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 Silverberg.
Has Silverberg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Silverberg went from 2,371 recorded bearers to 1,947. That is a decrease of 424 (-17.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,953 to #14,669.
What does the Census say about the background of Silverberg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Silverberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Silverberg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (1,816 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Silverberg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Hispanic (2.5%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Silverberg (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 Silverberg mean?
A Jewish occupational surname referring to someone who worked with silver or was a silversmith. 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 Silverberg (0.65 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 Silverberg?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Silverberg? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.