2000
#113,519
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 143
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Tieger
A surname likely derived from the German word "Tiger" or similar terms meaning tiger.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Tieger. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tieger 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Tieger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tieger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.2%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tieger
The surname "TIEGER" has its origins in Germany and the Netherlands, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the German word "Tieg," which means "wood" or "forest," suggesting that the name was initially associated with individuals who lived in or near a wooded area.
In the Netherlands, the name was often spelled as "Tieger" or "Tijger," which is the Dutch word for "tiger." This spelling variation likely arose from the surname's pronunciation, which sounded similar to the Dutch word for the big cat.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name "TIEGER" can be found in the Dutch city of Rotterdam, where a man named Jan Tieger was mentioned in a document from 1587. This document was a record of property ownership, indicating that Jan Tieger was a landowner in the city during that time.
In Germany, the name was sometimes spelled as "Tiegeler" or "Tiegeler," which may have been a reference to someone who worked with tiles or pottery. This variation of the name can be traced back to the city of Hamburg, where a family by the name of Tiegeler was documented in the late 17th century.
One notable individual who bore the surname "TIEGER" was Johann Tieger, a German composer and organist who lived from 1725 to 1792. He was known for his contributions to the development of church music in the Baroque era.
Another prominent figure with this surname was Pieter Tieger, a Dutch merchant and explorer who lived from 1637 to 1701. He was part of an expedition that explored the coastline of Australia in the late 17th century, and his name was given to a island off the coast of Western Australia, known as Tieger Island.
In the 18th century, a family by the name of Tieger was recorded as residing in the German city of Cologne. One member of this family, Johannes Tieger, was a respected craftsman who specialized in the production of wooden furniture and decorative items.
The name "TIEGER" also appeared in historical records from the Netherlands, such as the "Oude Groninger Archieven" (Old Groningen Archives), which documented various legal and administrative matters in the province of Groningen during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Furthermore, in the late 19th century, a German artist named Wilhelm Tieger gained recognition for his landscape paintings, which often depicted the forests and natural scenery of his native region.
The surname "TIEGER" has a rich history that spans several centuries and countries, with its origins rooted in the German and Dutch languages. While the exact meaning and derivation of the name may have varied over time and across regions, it has been associated with concepts such as woodlands, pottery, and even the majestic tiger.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tieger
Among Census respondents with the surname Tieger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.2%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Tieger 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 Tieger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 105
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 7
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tieger
Tieger 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
#123,064
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 140
-3 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 9,545 places
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-27 bearers (-19.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 24,157 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #113,519 | 143 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #123,064 | 140 | 0.05 | -3 bearers (-2.1%) | Down 9,545 places |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | -27 bearers (-19.3%) | Down 24,157 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 Tieger 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 | #123,064 | #147,221 | -19.6% |
| Count | 140 | 113 | -19.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -24.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tieger bearers went from 140 to 113 (-19.3% change). The surname moved down 24,157 positions in the national ranking, going from #123,064 to #147,221.
FAQ
Tieger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tieger?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Tieger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Tieger?
Tieger ranks #147,221 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 113 people with the surname Tieger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), 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 Tieger.
Has Tieger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tieger went from 140 recorded bearers to 113. That is a decrease of 27 (-19.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #123,064 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Tieger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tieger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.2%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Tieger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tieger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Hispanic (6.2%), Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Tieger (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 Tieger mean?
A surname likely derived from the German word "Tiger" or similar terms meaning tiger. 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 Tieger (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 Americans have the surname Tieger?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.