2000
#13,896
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,993
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.74
Rare Last name
Sprenger
An occupational surname for someone who made wooden barrels, tanks, or tubs.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,365 Americans carry the last name Sprenger. That puts it at #13,999 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 144,928 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sprenger 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
2.4K
1 in 144,928
Census rank
#13,999
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,062 bearers of the surname Sprenger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13999th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sprenger, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sprenger
The surname Sprenger is of German origin, and it is believed to have emerged in the Middle Ages, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is derived from the German word "sprengen," which means "to gallop" or "to ride rapidly," suggesting that the name may have originally referred to a messenger or a courier who was required to travel swiftly on horseback.
The earliest known records of the name Sprenger date back to the 15th century, with mentions in various German documents and records. One notable example is the Sprenger family from the city of Nuremberg, where a Johannes Sprenger was recorded as a council member in 1449.
In the 16th century, the name Sprenger gained prominence with the birth of Jakob Sprenger (1436-1495), a Dominican friar and inquisitor known for his involvement in the persecution of alleged witches. He co-authored the infamous book "Malleus Maleficarum" (The Hammer of Witches), which became a guide for witch trials during the Inquisition.
Another notable figure with the surname Sprenger was Johann Joachim Sprenger (1667-1719), a German theologian and author from Strasbourg. He wrote several works on theology and philosophy, including "Tabulae Symbolico-Morales" (Symbolic and Moral Tables) and "Institutio Polemica Christiana" (Christian Polemical Instruction).
In the 18th century, Johann Jakob Sprenger (1699-1768) was a Swiss theologian and philosopher from Basel. He is known for his work "Institutio Philosophiae Ecclecticae" (Introduction to Eclectic Philosophy), which aimed to reconcile different philosophical systems.
Moving into the 19th century, Karl Sprenger (1846-1919) was a German botanist and explorer who conducted extensive research on the flora of the Arabian Peninsula. He is credited with discovering several new plant species and publishing numerous works on the subject.
The surname Sprenger can also be found in various place names across Germany, such as Sprengersmühle (Sprenger's Mill) and Sprengersbach (Sprenger's Brook), indicating the historical presence of families with this surname in those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sprenger
Among Census respondents with the surname Sprenger, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Sprenger 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 Sprenger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.4% · 1,925
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 65
- Two or more races2.5% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 14
- Black or African American0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sprenger
Sprenger 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
#13,713
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,207
+214 bearers (+10.7%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Up 183 places
2020
#13,999
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,062
-145 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Down 286 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,896 | 1,993 | 0.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,713 | 2,207 | 0.75 | +214 bearers (+10.7%) | Up 183 places |
| 2020 | #13,999 | 2,062 | 0.69 | -145 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 286 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 Sprenger 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 | #13,713 | #13,999 | -2.1% |
| Count | 2,207 | 2,062 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.75 | 0.69 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sprenger bearers went from 2,207 to 2,062 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 286 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,713 to #13,999.
FAQ
Sprenger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sprenger?
Name Census estimates that about 2,365 living Americans carry the surname Sprenger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 144,928 residents.
How common is Sprenger?
Sprenger ranks #13,999 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.69 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 2,062 people with the surname Sprenger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,365), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.69 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 Sprenger.
Has Sprenger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sprenger went from 2,207 recorded bearers to 2,062. That is a decrease of 145 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,713 to #13,999.
What does the Census say about the background of Sprenger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sprenger, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Sprenger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.4% (1,925 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sprenger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.4%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Sprenger (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 Sprenger mean?
An occupational surname for someone who made wooden barrels, tanks, or tubs. 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 Sprenger (0.69 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 Americans have the surname Sprenger?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.