Explore the Family Name Herbster

The meaning of Herbster

German: occupational name for a grape picker or vintner, from Middle High German herb(e)st ‘(grape) harvest’ (see Herbst).

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname 'Herbster' has seen a slight decrease in the 2010s as compared to the early 2000s. In 2000, the surname ranked 30,023 among all surnames with a count of 737 people carrying it, representing a proportion of 0.27 per 100,000 people. By 2010, however, this rank had slipped to 31,906, even though there were still 723 individuals with the surname, indicating a reduction in its proportion to 0.25 per 100,000 people. This reflects a drop in popularity by about -6.27% in ranking and -1.9% in absolute count over the decade.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#30,023	#31,906	-6.27%
Count	737	723	-1.9%
Proportion per 100k	0.27	0.25	-7.41%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Herbster

In terms of ethnicity based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the majority of those with the surname 'Herbster' identify as White, making up 96.54% in 2010, slightly down from 97.15% in 2000. Meanwhile, the representation from the Asian/Pacific Islander community remained relatively stable at around 0.69%. There was a notable increase in the number of Herbsters identifying with two or more ethnicities, up 13.76% to 1.24%. The Hispanic community also saw a substantial increase in representation from 0.95% to 1.24%, marking a rise of 30.53%. There were no recorded instances of the surname 'Herbster' within the Black or the American Indian and Alaskan Native communities.

	2000	2010	Change
White	97.15%	96.54%	-0.63%
Two or More Races	1.09%	1.24%	13.76%
Hispanic	0.95%	1.24%	30.53%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.68%	0.69%	1.47%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%