2000
#14,838
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,833
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.68
Rare Last name
Spangenberg
A German surname referring to someone from the town of Spangenberg.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,035 Americans carry the last name Spangenberg. That puts it at #15,808 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.59 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 168,430 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Spangenberg 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
2.0K
1 in 168,430
Census rank
#15,808
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,775 bearers of the surname Spangenberg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.59 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15808th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Spangenberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Spangenberg
The surname Spangenberg is of German origin, originating in the 16th century from the town of Spangenberg located in the state of Hesse, Germany. The name is derived from the Old German words "spanga" meaning "clasp" or "buckle" and "berg" meaning "mountain" or "hill," suggesting that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a hill or mountain where clasps or buckles were made or traded.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Spangenberg can be found in the "Historischen Handbuch der Jüdischen Gemeindevertretung" (Historical Handbook of the Jewish Community Representation) from 1671, which mentions a Jewish family with the surname Spangenberg living in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
In the 18th century, Johann Joachim Spangenberg (1711-1784) was a prominent German theologian and bishop of the Moravian Church. He was born in Klettenberg, Germany, and played a significant role in the development of the Moravian Church in North America.
Another notable figure with the surname Spangenberg was August Gottlieb Spangenberg (1784-1858), a German painter and etcher known for his landscape works. He was born in Wolfenbüttel, Germany, and is considered one of the most important artists of the Biedermeier period.
In the 19th century, Cyrus Spangenberg (1841-1923) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania from 1887 to 1891.
The name Spangenberg has also been associated with various place names, such as Spangenberg, a town in the district of Schmalkalden-Meiningen in Thuringia, Germany, and Spangenberg County, a former county in the state of Hesse, Germany.
Throughout history, several individuals with the surname Spangenberg have made significant contributions in various fields, including theology, art, politics, and law, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and achievements associated with this German surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Spangenberg
Among Census respondents with the surname Spangenberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Spangenberg 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 Spangenberg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 1,641
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 72
- Two or more races2.7% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 10
- Black or African American0.2% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Spangenberg
Spangenberg 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
#16,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,797
-36 bearers (-2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Down 1,270 places
2020
#15,808
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,775
-22 bearers (-1.2%)
Per 100,000 0.59
Rank movement Up 300 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,838 | 1,833 | 0.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,108 | 1,797 | 0.61 | -36 bearers (-2.0%) | Down 1,270 places |
| 2020 | #15,808 | 1,775 | 0.59 | -22 bearers (-1.2%) | Up 300 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 Spangenberg 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 | #16,108 | #15,808 | 1.9% |
| Count | 1,797 | 1,775 | -1.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.61 | 0.59 | -2.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Spangenberg bearers went from 1,797 to 1,775 (-1.2% change). The surname moved up 300 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,108 to #15,808.
FAQ
Spangenberg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Spangenberg?
Name Census estimates that about 2,035 living Americans carry the surname Spangenberg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 168,430 residents.
How common is Spangenberg?
Spangenberg ranks #15,808 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.59 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 1,775 people with the surname Spangenberg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,035), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.59 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.59 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 Spangenberg.
Has Spangenberg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Spangenberg went from 1,797 recorded bearers to 1,775. That is a decrease of 22 (-1.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,108 to #15,808.
What does the Census say about the background of Spangenberg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Spangenberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (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 Spangenberg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (1,641 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Spangenberg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Hispanic (4.1%), Two or More Races (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 Spangenberg (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 Spangenberg mean?
A German surname referring to someone from the town of Spangenberg. 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 Spangenberg (0.59 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 Spangenberg?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.