2000
#2,361
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,052
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.21
Uncommon Last name
Arndt
Derived from the Germanic personal name "Arnold," meaning "eagle power" or "strong as an eagle."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,592 Americans carry the last name Arndt. That puts it at #2,595 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.55 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 21,983 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Arndt 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Arndt with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
16K
1 in 21,983
Census rank
#2,595
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,597 bearers of the surname Arndt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.55 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2595th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Arndt, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Arndt
The surname Arndt originated in Germany and is believed to have first emerged in the 12th century. It is derived from the Germanic given name Arnoldus, which is a compound of the elements "arn" meaning eagle and "wald" meaning power or brave.
The earliest recorded example of the surname Arndt dates back to around 1200, when a person named Arnoldus Arndt was mentioned in a medieval document from the Rhineland region of Germany. During this time, place names were often used as surnames, and it's possible that Arndt may have been associated with a particular location or estate.
In the 13th century, the surname Arndt appeared in various German records, including the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, which was a collection of historical documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg. One notable figure from this period was Johannes Arndt, a German theologian and author born in 1555 in Ballenstädt, who wrote several influential works on spirituality and devotion.
Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the surname Arndt was found across various regions of Germany, including Saxony, Thuringia, and Pomerania. In the 16th century, a German composer and organist named Johann Arndt (1555-1621) from Bohemia made significant contributions to the development of Protestant church music.
Another prominent individual with the surname Arndt was Ernst Moritz Arndt (1769-1860), a German writer, poet, and patriotic advocate who played a crucial role in the German nationalist movement during the Napoleonic Wars. His works, such as "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" and "Gedichte," inspired national unity and resistance against French occupation.
In the 19th century, the German physicist and philosopher Gustav Theodor Fechner (1801-1887), born Gustav Theodor Arndt, made significant contributions to the field of psychophysics and is considered a pioneer in the study of human perception and consciousness.
These are just a few examples of notable figures throughout history who bore the surname Arndt, which has its roots in medieval Germany and has been associated with various regions and professions over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arndt
Among Census respondents with the surname Arndt, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Arndt 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 Arndt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 12,607
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 393
- Two or more races2.8% · 386
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 92
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 68
- Black or African American0.4% · 51
Timeline
Historical Census data for Arndt
Arndt 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
#2,576
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,031
-21 bearers (-0.1%)
Per 100,000 4.76
Rank movement Down 215 places
2020
#2,595
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,597
-434 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 4.55
Rank movement Down 19 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,361 | 14,052 | 5.21 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,576 | 14,031 | 4.76 | -21 bearers (-0.1%) | Down 215 places |
| 2020 | #2,595 | 13,597 | 4.55 | -434 bearers (-3.1%) | Down 19 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 Arndt 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 | #2,576 | #2,595 | -0.7% |
| Count | 14,031 | 13,597 | -3.1% |
| Per 100K | 4.76 | 4.55 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Arndt bearers went from 14,031 to 13,597 (-3.1% change). The surname moved down 19 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,576 to #2,595.
FAQ
Arndt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Arndt?
Name Census estimates that about 15,592 living Americans carry the surname Arndt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 21,983 residents.
How common is Arndt?
Arndt ranks #2,595 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.55 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,597 people with the surname Arndt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,592), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.55 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.55 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Arndt.
Has Arndt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Arndt went from 14,031 recorded bearers to 13,597. That is a decrease of 434 (-3.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,576 to #2,595.
What does the Census say about the background of Arndt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Arndt, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Arndt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (12,607 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Arndt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Hispanic (2.9%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Arndt (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 Arndt mean?
Derived from the Germanic personal name "Arnold," meaning "eagle power" or "strong as an eagle." 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 Arndt (4.55 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 common is the surname Arndt?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Arndt at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.