Explore the Family Name Borg
The meaning of Borg
1. Norwegian and Danish: habitational name from various farms and other minor places so named, from Old Norse borg ‘fortification, stronghold’. In some cases the name is topographic, often referring to a hill that resembles a fortification, rather than an actual fortification. 2. Swedish: ornamental name from borg ‘fortified castle’ (compare 1 above), or a habitational name from a place called Borg or from a placename containing the word borg. This surname is also found in Finland. 3. North German: habitational name from the common placename Borg, a Low German form of Burg. 4. Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name for a money lender, from Yiddish borg ‘credit’. 5. Maltese: from Maltese Arabic borg ‘fortress, castle’. Some characteristic forenames: Scandinavian Erik, Lars, Anders, Swen, Bjorn, Evald, Jorgen, Karsten, Knut, Lennart, Nels.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Borg in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Borg saw a slight decrease between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked 6,605th in popularity but by 2010, it had slipped to 6,928th. Despite this decrease in rank, the actual count of individuals with the Borg surname increased slightly from 4,733 in 2000 to 4,843 in 2010. Similarly, the proportion of people with the Borg surname per 100,000 decreased by 6.29%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #6,605 | #6,928 | -4.89% |
| Count | 4,733 | 4,843 | 2.32% |
| Proportion per 100k | 1.75 | 1.64 | -6.29% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Borg
When it comes to ethnic identity, based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, there has been some fluctuation within the Borg surname community between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of Borg-surnamed individuals identifying as White decreased slightly from 94.32% to 93%, while those identifying as Hispanic saw an increase from 2.87% to 3.99%. The percentage of Borg individuals who identify as Asian/Pacific Islander or Two or more races also saw increases; however, those identifying as Black experienced a significant decrease from 0.70% to 0.39%. Lastly, though still a small fraction, the percentage of American Indian and Alaskan Native Borgs grew by 66.67%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 94.32% | 93% | -1.4% |
| Hispanic | 2.87% | 3.99% | 39.02% |
| Two or More Races | 1.25% | 1.57% | 25.6% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.72% | 0.81% | 12.5% |
| Black | 0.7% | 0.39% | -44.29% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.15% | 0.25% | 66.67% |
Borg ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Borg is British & Irish, which comprises 25.2% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are Italian (19.5%) and French & German (17.3%). Additional ancestries include Scandinavian, Ashkenazi Jewish, Eastern European, Spanish & Portuguese, and Indigenous American.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 25.2% |
| Italian | 19.5% |
| French & German | 17.3% |
| Other | 38.1% |
Possible origins of the surname Borg
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Borg have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 63.20% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 63.20% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 63.20% |
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 63.20% |
| Tyne And Wear, United Kingdom | 62.60% |
What Borg haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Borg is J-CTS5368, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup J-CTS5368 is descended from haplogroup J-M304. Other common haplogroups include R-P312 and I-P109, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Randazzo, Jardine, Lazarus, Katz, Kaplan, Graham, Kahn, Cohen, Kohn, Hollander.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Borg surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins J-M304
Your paternal lineage may be linked to men who spread the Semitic languages
Men carrying the J-M267 lineage took part in many waves of migrations over the millennia, and domesticated animals and plants weren't the only things they carried. They may also have been among the communities that spread the Semitic languages, a diverse group that bloomed from a single proto-Semitic tongue in the Levant nearly 5,750 years ago. These men likely carried branches of both haplogroup J and of the Semitic language family through the Arabian Peninsula to the Horn of Africa. Still later, some J-M267-bearing men re-expanded from the Arabian Peninsula back through the Middle East and across North Africa in migrations associated with the emergence and spread of Islam.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Borg have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Borg" Surname 54.5%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Borg" Surname 32.5%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Borg" Surname 16.4%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Borg" Surname 18.7%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Borg?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Borg are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition