2010
#150,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Tenberge
A toponymic German surname derived from a placename containing the element "berg" meaning mountain or hill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Tenberge. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tenberge 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Tenberge in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tenberge, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (5.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tenberge
The surname Tenberge has its origins in Germany, dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Middle Low German words "tene" meaning "ten" and "berge" meaning "hills" or "mountains." This suggests that the name was initially given to someone who lived near ten hills or a similar geographical feature.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tenberge can be found in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the region of Bremen, Germany. In this source, a person named Henricus Tenberge is mentioned in 1245.
Another early reference to the name comes from the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a compilation of historical records from the Margraviate of Brandenburg. In this collection, a certain Johannes Tenberge is mentioned in a document dated 1307.
During the 14th century, the name appears to have spread to other parts of northern Germany. In the Hansisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of documents related to the Hanseatic League, a merchant named Hermann Tenberge from the city of Lübeck is mentioned in 1368.
The name Tenberge has also been associated with various places in Germany. For instance, there is a small village called Tenberge in the district of Emsland, Lower Saxony. It is possible that the surname originated from this or a similar location.
Notable individuals with the surname Tenberge include:
1. Johann Tenberge (c. 1480 - 1558), a German theologian and reformer who was a close associate of Martin Luther.
2. Heinrich Tenberge (1592 - 1655), a German jurist and professor of law at the University of Helmstedt.
3. Anna Tenberge (1619 - 1678), a German midwife and herbalist known for her extensive knowledge of medicinal plants.
4. Wilhelm Tenberge (1781 - 1849), a German architect who designed several notable buildings in the city of Hanover.
5. Ernst Tenberge (1865 - 1938), a German painter and printmaker known for his landscape and genre scenes.
While the surname Tenberge is not among the most common in Germany today, it has a rich historical legacy and can be traced back to the medieval period.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tenberge
Among Census respondents with the surname Tenberge, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (5.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Tenberge 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 Tenberge surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.5% · 88
- Two or more races8.3% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native5.6% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tenberge
Tenberge appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 483 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #150,452 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 483 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 Tenberge 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 | #150,452 | #150,935 | -0.3% |
| Count | 109 | 108 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tenberge bearers went from 109 to 108 (-0.9% change). The surname moved down 483 positions in the national ranking, going from #150,452 to #150,935.
FAQ
Tenberge surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tenberge?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Tenberge. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Tenberge?
Tenberge ranks #150,935 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 108 people with the surname Tenberge. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Tenberge.
Has Tenberge become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tenberge went from 109 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #150,452 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Tenberge?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tenberge, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (5.6%). 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 Tenberge in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.5% (88 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tenberge appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.5%), Two or More Races (8.3%), American Indian/Alaska Native (5.6%). 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 Tenberge (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 Tenberge mean?
A toponymic German surname derived from a placename containing the element "berg" meaning mountain or hill. 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 Tenberge (0.04 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 Tenberge?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.