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

Tanger, 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 Tanger surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tanger in America

Tanger is the 82044th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tanger surname appeared 230 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Tanger.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tanger 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 Tanger

The surname Tanger is of German origin, derived from the Middle Low German word "tanger" or "tenger," meaning "thin" or "slender." This name likely originated in northern Germany or the Netherlands in the late medieval period, possibly as a descriptive nickname for someone with a slender physique.

In the 13th century, the name Tanger appeared in various records from the Hanseatic cities of northern Germany and the Low Countries, such as the city archives of Bremen and Lübeck. One of the earliest recorded instances is a merchant named Hinrich Tanger, who was mentioned in a trade document from the city of Hamburg in 1287.

During the 15th century, the Tanger surname was found in several Dutch and Flemish records, including the census records of the city of Antwerp in 1489, where a family named Tanger resided. A notable individual from this period was Jan Tanger, a skilled goldsmith who created elaborate pieces for the nobility in the Duchy of Brabant, born around 1435 and active until his death in 1492.

As people migrated across Europe, the Tanger surname spread to other regions. In the 16th century, the name was documented in parts of northern France, particularly in the regions near the border with the Low Countries. One example is Pierre Tanger, a merchant from Lille who was granted citizenship in the city of Paris in 1578.

The Tanger surname also made its way to England, likely through Dutch and German immigrants in the 17th and 18th centuries. One of the earliest known English bearers of the name was William Tanger, a merchant from London who was involved in the East India Company trade in the late 1600s.

Another notable individual with the Tanger surname was Johann Tanger, a German philosopher and theologian born in 1653 in the city of Heidelberg. He authored several influential works on ethics and moral philosophy during the Enlightenment period.

Over time, the Tanger surname has undergone various spelling variations, such as Tanger, Tenger, Tangher, and Tangere, reflecting the regional dialects and linguistic influences of different areas where it was adopted.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tanger

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

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 Tanger 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 Tanger 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 Tanger was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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