2000
#12,829
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,201
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.82
Rare Last name
Westberg
A Swedish topographic surname referring to someone living west of a hill or mountain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,336 Americans carry the last name Westberg. That puts it at #14,153 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 146,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Westberg 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
2.3K
1 in 146,727
Census rank
#14,153
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,037 bearers of the surname Westberg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14153rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Westberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Westberg
The surname Westberg is of Swedish origin and dates back to the 17th century. It is derived from the Swedish words "väst" meaning "west" and "berg" meaning "mountain" or "hill". The name likely originated in the western regions of Sweden where the terrain is mountainous or hilly.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Westberg can be found in the parish records of Älvdalen, Dalarna County, Sweden, where a man named Lars Westberg was born in 1685. Variations of the spelling include Westbergh and Westbärg.
In the late 18th century, a prominent Swedish military officer named Carl Johan Westberg (1766-1825) served in the Swedish Army and rose to the rank of major general. He fought in the Finnish War of 1808-1809 against Russia.
Another notable figure with the surname Westberg was the Swedish writer and journalist Gunnar Westberg (1899-1988), who was born in Stockholm. He wrote several novels and plays, and was known for his satirical works criticizing Swedish society.
In the field of science, the Swedish chemist Gustaf Westberg (1870-1935) made significant contributions to the study of organic compounds and their reactions. He worked as a professor at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
The surname Westberg also has a presence in the United States, where it was likely brought by Swedish immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One prominent American with this surname was the Lutheran minister and author Conrad Emil Lindberg Westberg (1880-1966), who served as the secretary of the Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod from 1918 to 1935.
Throughout its history, the surname Westberg has maintained a strong connection to its Swedish roots and the geographical reference to the western mountainous regions of the country.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Westberg
Among Census respondents with the surname Westberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Westberg 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 Westberg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 1,879
- Two or more races3.3% · 67
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 59
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 8
- Black or African American0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Westberg
Westberg 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
#13,845
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,183
-18 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 1,016 places
2020
#14,153
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,037
-146 bearers (-6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 308 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,829 | 2,201 | 0.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,845 | 2,183 | 0.74 | -18 bearers (-0.8%) | Down 1,016 places |
| 2020 | #14,153 | 2,037 | 0.68 | -146 bearers (-6.7%) | Down 308 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 Westberg 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 | #13,845 | #14,153 | -2.2% |
| Count | 2,183 | 2,037 | -6.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.74 | 0.68 | -7.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Westberg bearers went from 2,183 to 2,037 (-6.7% change). The surname moved down 308 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,845 to #14,153.
FAQ
Westberg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Westberg?
Name Census estimates that about 2,336 living Americans carry the surname Westberg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 146,727 residents.
How common is Westberg?
Westberg ranks #14,153 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.68 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,037 people with the surname Westberg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,336), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.68 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Westberg.
Has Westberg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Westberg went from 2,183 recorded bearers to 2,037. That is a decrease of 146 (-6.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,845 to #14,153.
What does the Census say about the background of Westberg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Westberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Westberg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (1,879 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Westberg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Two or More Races (3.3%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Westberg (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 Westberg mean?
A Swedish topographic surname referring to someone living west of a 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 Westberg (0.68 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 have the last name Westberg?
See how many Americans have the surname Westberg on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.