2000
#100,194
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 167
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Volberding
A German surname derived from the place name Volberding in Lower Saxony.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Volberding. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Volberding 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Volberding in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Volberding, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.2%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Volberding
The surname Volberding is of German origin, originating in the medieval era. It is a locational name derived from the place name Volberg or Wolberg, which means "mountain of wolves" or "wolf mountain" in German.
The name Volberding is believed to have first emerged in the regions of Lower Saxony and Westphalia in northern Germany. It is thought to have been formed by adding the common German suffix "-ing" to the place name Volberg, indicating that the original bearer of the name hailed from this location.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Volberding can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, dating back to the 13th century. In this text, a certain "Henricus de Volberge" is mentioned, likely referring to a person named Heinrich from Volberg.
In the late 15th century, a notable figure named Johannes Volberding was a merchant and council member in the city of Lübeck, a prominent trading center in northern Germany at the time. He is mentioned in various historical records from the period.
During the 16th century, a family by the name of Volberding lived in the town of Osnabrück, located in Lower Saxony. Records from this time show that a man named Gerhard Volberding served as a town councilor and held influential positions in the local government.
In the 17th century, a scholar and theologian named Johann Volberding (1597-1673) gained recognition for his work as a professor at the University of Helmstedt. He published several notable works on theology and philosophy during his lifetime.
Another individual of note was Friedrich Volberding (1763-1840), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge and published several influential works on legal theory and practice in the early 19th century.
The name Volberding has also been found in historical records from other parts of Europe, suggesting that some bearers of the name may have migrated or descended from German ancestors who settled in other regions over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Volberding
Among Census respondents with the surname Volberding, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.2%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Volberding 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 Volberding surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 110
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.2% · 5
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Volberding
Volberding 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
#120,187
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 144
-23 bearers (-13.8%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 19,993 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-26 bearers (-18.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 23,324 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #100,194 | 167 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #120,187 | 144 | 0.05 | -23 bearers (-13.8%) | Down 19,993 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | -26 bearers (-18.1%) | Down 23,324 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 Volberding 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 | #120,187 | #143,511 | -19.4% |
| Count | 144 | 118 | -18.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -21.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Volberding bearers went from 144 to 118 (-18.1% change). The surname moved down 23,324 positions in the national ranking, going from #120,187 to #143,511.
FAQ
Volberding surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Volberding?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Volberding. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Volberding?
Volberding ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Volberding. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Volberding.
Has Volberding become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Volberding went from 144 recorded bearers to 118. That is a decrease of 26 (-18.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #120,187 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Volberding?
Among Census respondents with the surname Volberding, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.2%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Volberding in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Volberding appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (4.2%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Volberding (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 Volberding mean?
A German surname derived from the place name Volberding in Lower Saxony. 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 Volberding (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 Volberding?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.