Find out how popular the last name Steinberg is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Steinberg.

Steinberg, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Steinberg surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Steinberg in America

Steinberg is the 2841st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Steinberg surname appeared 12,709 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Steinberg.

We can also compare 2010 data for Steinberg to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Steinberg

The surname Steinberg has its origins in Germany and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is a topographic name derived from the German words "stein," meaning stone, and "berg," meaning mountain or hill, indicating that the original bearer lived near or on a stony hill or mountain.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Steinberg can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the region of Anhalt, Germany, dating back to the year 1174. This document mentions a person named "Rudolfus de Steinberg."

The Steinberg name has been associated with various locations throughout Germany, including towns and villages such as Steinberg in Saxony, Steinberg in Hesse, and Steinberg in Thuringia. These place names likely served as the basis for the surname, indicating the place of origin or residence of the earliest bearers.

Notable individuals with the surname Steinberg throughout history include Johann Gottlieb Steinberg (1683-1750), a German composer and organist known for his contributions to the late Baroque period. Another prominent figure was Ludwig Steinberg (1892-1944), a German-Jewish legal scholar and judge who was persecuted by the Nazi regime and later died in the Auschwitz concentration camp.

In the realm of literature, the name Steinberg is associated with the American writer Saul Steinberg (1914-1999), renowned for his satirical cartoons and illustrations, particularly those featured in The New Yorker magazine.

The Steinberg surname also gained prominence in the field of science with the American physicist Jesse Steinberg (1919-1994), who made significant contributions to the development of particle accelerators and the study of high-energy physics.

Another notable figure was the German-American architect and artist Leo Steinberg (1920-2011), known for his influential writings on modern art and his contributions to art history.

While the Steinberg surname has its roots in Germany, it has spread globally and can be found in various countries, including the United States, Canada, and Israel, among others.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Steinberg

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Steinberg.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Steinberg was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Steinberg has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Steinberg was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Steinberg, please contact us.

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