2000
#2,610
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,715
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.71
Uncommon Last name
Steinberg
A Jewish habitational surname referring to someone living near or on a rocky hill or mountain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,651 Americans carry the last name Steinberg. That puts it at #2,958 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.98 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 25,108 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Steinberg 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 Steinberg with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
14K
1 in 25,108
Census rank
#2,958
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,904 bearers of the surname Steinberg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.98 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2958th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Steinberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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earliest recorded instances of the name Steinberg can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the region of Anhalt, Germany, dating back to the year 1174.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Steinberg
Among Census respondents with the surname Steinberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Steinberg 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 Steinberg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 11,088
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 343
- Two or more races2.2% · 260
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 130
- Black or African American0.6% · 70
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Steinberg
Steinberg 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
#2,841
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,709
-6 bearers (-0.0%)
Per 100,000 4.31
Rank movement Down 231 places
2020
#2,958
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,904
-805 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 3.98
Rank movement Down 117 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,610 | 12,715 | 4.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,841 | 12,709 | 4.31 | -6 bearers (-0.0%) | Down 231 places |
| 2020 | #2,958 | 11,904 | 3.98 | -805 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 117 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 Steinberg 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 | #2,841 | #2,958 | -4.1% |
| Count | 12,709 | 11,904 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 4.31 | 3.98 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Steinberg bearers went from 12,709 to 11,904 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 117 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,841 to #2,958.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Steinberg
FAQ
Steinberg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Steinberg?
Name Census estimates that about 13,651 living Americans carry the surname Steinberg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 25,108 residents.
How common is Steinberg?
Steinberg ranks #2,958 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.98 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,904 people with the surname Steinberg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,651), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.98 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.98 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Steinberg.
Has Steinberg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Steinberg went from 12,709 recorded bearers to 11,904. That is a decrease of 805 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,841 to #2,958.
What does the Census say about the background of Steinberg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Steinberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Steinberg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (11,088 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Steinberg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Hispanic (2.9%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Steinberg (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 Steinberg mean?
A Jewish habitational surname referring to someone living near or on a rocky hill or mountain. 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 Steinberg (3.98 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 Steinberg?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Steinberg on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.