2000
#34,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 615
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.23
Very Rare Last name
Altshuler
A Jewish surname of Ashkenazi origin meaning "elder" or "senior".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 670 Americans carry the last name Altshuler. That puts it at #40,442 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 511,574 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Altshuler surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
670
1 in 511,574
Census rank
#40,442
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
584
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 584 bearers of the surname Altshuler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 40442nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Altshuler, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Altshuler
The surname Altshuler is of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, deriving from the Yiddish word "alt," meaning "old," and "shuler," which translates to "teacher" or "scholar." It can be interpreted as referring to an esteemed or veteran teacher or scholar within the Jewish community.
The earliest known record of the Altshuler name dates back to the 17th century in Eastern Europe, specifically in the regions of Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus. In these areas, Jewish communities flourished, and the surname likely emerged as a way to distinguish families or individuals based on their occupation or status.
One notable historical reference to the Altshuler name can be found in the Pinkas HaKehillot, a comprehensive encyclopedia documenting Jewish communities in Europe before the Holocaust. It mentions several Altshuler families residing in various shtetls (small Jewish towns) in the Pale of Settlement, which encompassed parts of modern-day Ukraine, Belarus, and Poland.
Among the earliest recorded individuals bearing the Altshuler surname was Rabbi Yitzchak Altshuler, who lived in the late 17th century and served as a respected scholar and teacher in the town of Berdychiv, Ukraine. Another notable figure was Rebbe Shlomo Altshuler, a prominent Hasidic leader from the 18th century, who established a dynasty in Chernobyl, Ukraine.
In the 19th century, the Altshuler surname appears in various records and manuscripts from Eastern Europe, including birth and marriage records, tax rolls, and community documents. One notable individual from this period was Chaim Altshuler, a renowned author and Talmudic scholar born in Vilna, Lithuania, in 1819.
As the Altshuler family spread across Europe and eventually to other parts of the world, the surname underwent several variations in spelling, such as Altzuler, Altschuler, and Altshul. These variations reflect the cultural and linguistic influences of the regions where the name was adopted.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the Altshuler surname, including:
1. Yitzchak Altshuler (late 17th century), a respected scholar and teacher in Berdychiv, Ukraine.
2. Shlomo Altshuler (18th century), a prominent Hasidic leader who established a dynasty in Chernobyl, Ukraine.
3. Chaim Altshuler (1819-1888), a renowned author and Talmudic scholar born in Vilna, Lithuania.
4. Jacob Altshuler (1841-1912), a Russian-American banker and philanthropist who co-founded the Federation of American Zionists.
5. Abraham Altshuler (1876-1963), a renowned Yiddish writer and journalist born in Odessa, Ukraine.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Altshuler
Among Census respondents with the surname Altshuler, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Altshuler bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Altshuler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.2% · 562
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 6
- Two or more races1.0% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 4
- Black or African American0.5% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Altshuler
Altshuler appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#36,630
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 610
-5 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.21
Rank movement Down 1,873 places
2020
#40,442
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 584
-26 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.20
Rank movement Down 3,812 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #34,757 | 615 | 0.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #36,630 | 610 | 0.21 | -5 bearers (-0.8%) | Down 1,873 places |
| 2020 | #40,442 | 584 | 0.20 | -26 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 3,812 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Altshuler surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #36,630 | #40,442 | -10.4% |
| Count | 610 | 584 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.21 | 0.20 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Altshuler bearers went from 610 to 584 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 3,812 positions in the national ranking, going from #36,630 to #40,442.
FAQ
Altshuler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Altshuler?
Name Census estimates that about 670 living Americans carry the surname Altshuler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 511,574 residents.
How common is Altshuler?
Altshuler ranks #40,442 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.20 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 584 people with the surname Altshuler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (670), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.20 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Altshuler.
Has Altshuler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Altshuler went from 610 recorded bearers to 584. That is a decrease of 26 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #36,630 to #40,442.
What does the Census say about the background of Altshuler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Altshuler, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Altshuler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.2% (562 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Altshuler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.2%), Hispanic (1.0%), Two or More Races (1.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Altshuler (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Altshuler mean?
A Jewish surname of Ashkenazi origin meaning "elder" or "senior". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Altshuler (0.20 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Altshuler?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.