Guild of One-Name Studies
One-name studies, Genealogy
Study: Helberg
Variants: Hellberg
Category: 1 - A study where research using core genealogical datasets and transcriptions is in its early stages.
Contact: Dr Hilda Maclean
The Helberg surname (with one 'l') appears to have originated in Sweden and is most prevalent in Sweden, the Swedish-speaking part of Finland and Norway. From Scandinavia, the surname migrated predominately to the United States of America, but small numbers are also found in Australia and New Zealand. Individual bearers of the Helberg surname can be found world-wide.
The Hellberg surname (with two 'l') is believed to have evolved separately in Germany before migrating to the "New World". However, there is Helberg village in the district of Gummersbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Helberg and Hellberg were used interchangeably by the record keepers of Australia New Zealand and South Africa, often masking the origin of the family concerned. Therefore, both spellings have been collected.
The surname Helberg can be split into two elements: hel . berg
In Swedish and Norwegian hel means whole and berg means mountain (Swedish and German) or rock (Norwegian).
The earliest recorded baptisms in Family Search are:
There is a farm called Helberg in the Verdal Parish, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. As it was the custom, families with patronymic surnames often adopted the name of the farm on which they were living as a fixed surname. Therefore, families who are not genetically related can share the same surname in a particular area. Urban dwellers had inheritable surnames in Norway earlier than the rural community until the compulsory adoption of a fixed surname in 1923.
Perhaps the best-known bearer of the surname was Norwegian resistance fighter Claus Helberg (1919–2003).
Other Helbergs include:
On the Hellberg side:
(All of the above from the various language versions of Wikipedia)
Helberg/Hellberg outside of Scandinavia and the United States is very rare.
In Australia, the name is not as common today (2026) as it was in the 19th century. The states of New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory had no Helberg voters in 1990/1991 electoral rolls while only 6 instances were found in the Northern Territory. In January 2019, there were only 6 telephone subscribers with Helberg spelling and 4 with the Hellberg spelling in Australia (population 25,552,829 in 2019). Residential listings in the Australian Whitepages were removed in 2025 so this figure will not be able to be updated.
In South Africa, the progenitor of the Helberg name was Johann Helberg (1750 – 1811) who arrived at the Cape of Good Hope refuelling station in 1772, originally from Hemer or Nakel, Germany. He was in the employ of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) initially as a soldier then as a carpenter and wagon maker. The British captured Cape Town and the colony imposing their laws. Like many of his associates after Johann Helberg served his time in the VOC and then his family trekked inland to the newly formed Republic of Graaff Reinet. By 1805 the British annexed this republic and did away with the burgers' slaves. Johann, a Lutheran, accepted the King's compensation and released both of his slaves. Resentment to British rule flourished resulting in trek teams forming, the Helbergs joined AS Potgieters trek which left Graaff Reinet in 1832 ending up in the Zoutspansberg mountains near the Limpopo River. A Helberg held the role of teacher on this trek, and a young Paul Kruger who was to become President of the Transvaal Republic was one of his students.
Helberg siblings and their children farmed in the Waterberg and Zoutspansberg mountains. When copper was discovered in Zambia some of their youngsters earned good money transporting goods to Lusaka and the mines. On one trek A Helberg was killed by a lion. MC Helberg established a large farm on the outskirts of Lusaka. Common male first names include Adam, Christiaan, Hendrick, Johann, Zacharias.
The Boer War 1901 to 1903 split the families, woman and children were interned in concentration camps where diseases and death flourished, the men were sent to camps in Bermuda, St Helena and India. More recently Helberg clan members can be found throughout South Africa; on the mines, in construction, engineering, banking, and practicing medicine. A small group of Hellberg’s migrated from Germany to German settlements in the Eastern Cape, sector of South Africa circa 1820, some of these settlers started trekking into the hinterland establishing farms in the Orange Free State and central Transvaal. [Helberg in South Africa family history kindly supplied by Deidre S. Snook.]
The Helberg surname arrived in the Australian colonies in the mid-19th century in both South Australia and New South Wales. In the late 1940s, the New South Wales family moved to the Northern Territory, establishing the surname. The surname has virtually disappeared in New South Wales as a result, with the current surname holders being recent migrants to Australia.
In New Zealand, almost all instances are of the Hellberg spelling.
In Ireland, shipping interests provided the two families in the 1901 census, from Norway and Sweden.
The 1921 census for England and Wales produced one Helberg family living in Liverpool who are also found in the 1939 population register.
Mid-19th century migration from Norway and Sweden to the United States established the surname in Chicago and the mid-west.
Surname data has been collected to date (January 2026) from Australia, New Zealand and Norway. Look ups are available from the project contact person.
Name lists consulted include:
Although a specific Hel(l)berg DNA project has not been established yet, individual Helbergs and Hellbergs have been tested in FamilytreeDNA, Ancestry and My Heritage, which has the greatest number of matches.
The majority of the Helbergs in Norway are centred around Trondheim and are descended from Johannes Neilsen Helberg (b. 1731 d.1783). A member of the Trondheim family Carsten Olaus Helberg (b. 1812 d.1898) settled in Chicago, Illinois by 1863 where he raised his younger children.
The Helberg family of South Australia is descended from Anders Helberg of Malmö, Sweden (1847-1936).