How common is the surname Goldberg?

29,603 people in the United States had the surname Goldberg in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 10,430 Americans. It ranked 1,193rd of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Goldberg?

In the 2010 Census, 95% of people named Goldberg identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named Goldberg?

Whoopi Goldberg, American actress, comedian, author and television personality (born 1955), followed by Bill Goldberg.

Where is the surname Goldberg most common?

Wikidata records people named Goldberg in the United States, Israel and Canada.

How do you pronounce Goldberg?

Goldberg is /ˈɡoʊldbɚɡ/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Goldberg getting more or less common?

Less common. 29,968 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 29,603 in 2010, down 1.2%.

The surname Goldberg

A German surname, carried by 29,603 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈɡoʊldbɚɡ/ 2 syllables Soundex G431

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Goldberg is more common than 99.3% of them.

Origin

German origin

Borrowed from German Goldberg, from German Gold (“gold”) and Berg (“mountain”). One of the ornamental names chosen by Jews who were forced to take surnames in 18th and 19th century Germany.

One of 1,101 German surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 29,603 people named Goldberg in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 10,430 Americans. That is down 1.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 29,968.

#1,193

rank among US surnames

29,603

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

-1.2%

change since 2000 (was #1,069)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,184	Mayfield	29,805	10,359
#1,185	Hoang	29,798	10,361
#1,186	Elder	29,796	10,362
#1,187	Lau	29,792	10,363
#1,188	Dale	29,757	10,376
#1,189	Camp	29,753	10,377
#1,190	Connolly	29,710	10,392

Who is named Goldberg

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

95% of people named Goldberg identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 95%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
Two or more races 1.0%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.5%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.1%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Goldbergs

33 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Whoopi Goldberg
American actress, comedian, author and television personality (born 1955)
Bill Goldberg
American professional wrestler and football player (born 1966)
Rube Goldberg
American cartoonist (1883–1970)
Adam Goldberg
American actor, born 1970
Adele Goldberg
American computer scientist (born 1945)
Arthur Goldberg
American lawyer, politician and civil servant (1908-1990)
Jeffrey Goldberg
American journalist (born 1965)
Eric Goldberg
American animator (born 1955)
Jonah Goldberg
American political writer and pundit, born 1969
Philip Goldberg
American diplomat (born 1956)
Barry Goldberg
American musical artist (1942–2025)
Leonard Goldberg
American film and television producer (1934-2019)

Notable Goldbergs come mostly from the United States (31), Israel (1) and Canada (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Goldberg

Goldberg has the Soundex code G431, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code G431.

Other German surnames

All 1,101 German surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Goldberg come from?: Borrowed from German Goldberg, from German Gold (“gold”) and Berg (“mountain”). One of the ornamental names chosen by Jews who were forced to take surnames in 18th and 19th century Germany.
How common is the surname Goldberg?: 29,603 people in the United States had the surname Goldberg in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 10,430 Americans. It ranked 1,193rd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Goldberg?: In the 2010 Census, 95% of people named Goldberg identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Goldberg?: Whoopi Goldberg, American actress, comedian, author and television personality (born 1955), followed by Bill Goldberg.
Where is the surname Goldberg most common?: Wikidata records people named Goldberg in the United States, Israel and Canada.
How do you pronounce Goldberg?: Goldberg is /ˈɡoʊldbɚɡ/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Goldberg getting more or less common?: Less common. 29,968 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 29,603 in 2010, down 1.2%.