Explore the Family Name Goldenberg

The meaning of Goldenberg

Jewish (Ashkenazic): artificial name, a compound of German golden ‘golden’ + Berg ‘mountain, hill’. In some instances it may be a habitational name from a place called Goldenberg in Zurich (Switzerland). Some characteristic forenames: Jewish Yakov, Chaim, Emanuel, Mazal, Moishe, Aron, Avi, Berish, Boruch, Chaya, Elchonon. Russian Boris, Igor, Leonid, Mikhail, Oleg, Vladimir, Arkady, Dmitry, Iosif, Lev, Sofya, Aleksandr.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Goldenberg in the United States?

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Goldenberg has seen minimal alterations over a decade. In 2000, it was ranked as the 8,699th most popular surname in the United States, while by 2010, it had slipped slightly to 9,165th place, marking a decrease of 5.36%. However, the actual count of individuals with this surname rose marginally from 3,478 in 2000 to 3,561 in 2010, an increase of 2.39%. The proportion per 100,000 people also saw a small drop of 6.2%, from 1.29 in 2000 to 1.21 in 2010.

20002010Change
Rank#8,699#9,165-5.36%
Count3,4783,5612.39%
Proportion per 100k1.291.21-6.2%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Goldenberg

Shifting focus to the ethnic identity associated with the Goldenberg surname, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that the overwhelming majority identify as White, with 95.69% in 2000 and 95.48% in 2010, showing a minute decline of 0.22%. Meanwhile, the Hispanic representation among Goldenbergs increased by 15.23%, moving from 2.56% in 2000 to 2.95% in 2010. The percentage of Goldenbergs identifying as Black experienced a notable leap, increasing by 110% from 0.20% to 0.42%. Those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and those of two or more races saw decreases of 2.33% and 34.82% respectively. There was no change in the percentage of Goldenbergs reporting American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicity.

20002010Change
White95.69%95.48%-0.22%
Hispanic2.56%2.95%15.23%
Two or More Races1.12%0.73%-34.82%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.43%0.42%-2.33%
Black0.2%0.42%110%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%

Goldenberg 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 Goldenberg is Ashkenazi Jewish, which comprises 66.4% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are British & Irish (10.3%) and Eastern European (6.0%). Additional ancestries include French & German, Spanish & Portuguese, Italian, Iranian, Caucasian & Mesopotamian, and Indigenous American.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
Ashkenazi Jewish66.4%
British & Irish10.3%
Eastern European6.0%
Other17.3%
Goldenberg

Possible origins of the surname Goldenberg

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 Goldenberg have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Greater London, United Kingdom26.80%
Merseyside, United Kingdom26.80%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom26.80%
Glasgow City, United Kingdom26.80%
Lancashire, United Kingdom26.10%

What Goldenberg 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 Goldenberg is E-L791, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup E-L791 is descended from haplogroup E-M96. Other common haplogroups include E-M5021 and J-CTS5368, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Rosenfeld, Goldberg, Friedman, Frankel, Feldman, Goldstein, Stern, Weiner, Silverman, Rubin.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Goldenberg surname are: K1a1b1a, H1, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

goldenbergPaternal Haplogroup Origins E-M96
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to Napolean Bonaparte

The French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte descended from the common ancestor of haplogroup E-M34. The male line of the Bonaparte family was from Tuscany, where Napoleon's earliest known male ancestors lived for at least six generations. Eleven generations before Napoleon, his ancestor, Giovanni, was the first to leave Tuscany for Corsica. The Bonaparte lineage lived in Corsica for ten generations before Napoleon's father, Charles-Marie Bonaparte. Charles-Marie (born in 1746) married Napoleon's mother, Letizia Ramolino, at the age of 18 in 1764.

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.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Goldenberg 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

Goldenberg

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Goldenberg" Surname 40.0%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Goldenberg

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Goldenberg" Surname 13.9%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Goldenberg

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Goldenberg" Surname 9.4%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Goldenberg

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Goldenberg" Surname 15.7%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Goldenberg?

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 Goldenberg are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Ashkenazi Jewish 57.0%

23andMe Users 57.2%