The Berger surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 43,851 people carried this name — #785 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 6,720 people counted. That is up 1% from 43,556 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Berger surname
French berger
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Berger» (French), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 14,639 people named Berger.
459 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 102 départements, most often Paris.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
10,124 people named Berger live in Switzerland.
They live in all 26 of Switzerland’s cantons, most of all in Bern.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 1,917 people named Berger live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Liège.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
1,888 people named Berger have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 2,494 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in all 16 of Poland’s voivodeships, most of all in Silesian.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 1,747 people named Berger live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
3,698 people named Berger are counted in Norway, Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0 · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Berger in American newspapers,
1890–1945.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 365,886 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Berger,
with a public archive behind them.
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Harriet Berger d. 2012 · writer
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Ewald Berger d. 1902 · architect
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Friedrich August Berger d. 1900 · printer
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Martin Berger d. 1798 · bookseller
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Bernard Hribernik d. 1786 · medalist
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Klemens, der Jüngere Berger d. 1643 · bookseller
Wikidata (CC0) · 8 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Berger.
- Bergamo 527 · U.S. census
- Bergara 345 · U.S. census
- Bergdoll 471 · U.S. census
- Berge 3,444 · U.S. census
- Bergel 195 · U.S. census
- Bergeon 269 · U.S. census
- Bergere 119 · U.S. census
- Bergeron 20,073 · U.S. census
- Berges 762 · U.S. census
- Berget 421 · U.S. census
- Bergevin 787 · U.S. census
- Bergey 1,559 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Berger is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.