2000
#11,195
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,597
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.96
Rare Last name
Auten
Derived from a Middle English personal name, a variant of Alton, meaning "old town."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,723 Americans carry the last name Auten. That puts it at #12,471 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 125,874 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Auten 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
2.7K
1 in 125,874
Census rank
#12,471
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,375 bearers of the surname Auten in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12471st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Auten, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Auten
The surname Auten has its origins in the Low German language and is believed to have originated in the region of northwestern Germany, particularly in the areas that now form parts of modern-day Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. The name is thought to be derived from the Old German word "aude," meaning "prosperous" or "fortunate."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Auten can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a medieval collection of documents from the Kingdom of Saxony, dating back to the 12th century. In this document, a certain Rudolfus de Auten is mentioned as a landowner in the region.
The name Auten has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Auten, a village in the municipality of Obernkirchen in Lower Saxony. This connection suggests that some families may have adopted the surname based on their place of origin or residence.
Among the notable individuals bearing the surname Auten throughout history is Johannes Auten, a German theologian and priest who lived in the 16th century and was known for his work on the translation of the Bible into the Low German language. Another prominent figure was Heinrich Auten, a German architect and master builder who lived in the 17th century and was responsible for the construction of several churches and public buildings in the region.
In the 18th century, Johann Auten, a German composer and organist, gained recognition for his contributions to the baroque music tradition. His compositions for organ and choir were widely performed in churches across Germany.
Moving forward to the 19th century, we encounter Carl Auten, a German-American industrialist who emigrated to the United States and established a successful manufacturing company in Pennsylvania, producing various metal products.
Lastly, one cannot overlook the significance of August Auten, a German-American artist and sculptor who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His works, which often depicted scenes from nature and rural life, are still celebrated in art circles and can be found in various museums and private collections.
These are just a few examples of individuals with the surname Auten who have left their mark on history, spanning various fields such as religion, architecture, music, industry, and art.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Auten
Among Census respondents with the surname Auten, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Auten 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 Auten surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.1% · 2,164
- Two or more races3.2% · 75
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 68
- Black or African American2.1% · 49
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Auten
Auten 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
#11,597
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,707
+110 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.92
Rank movement Down 402 places
2020
#12,471
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,375
-332 bearers (-12.3%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 874 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,195 | 2,597 | 0.96 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,597 | 2,707 | 0.92 | +110 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 402 places |
| 2020 | #12,471 | 2,375 | 0.79 | -332 bearers (-12.3%) | Down 874 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 Auten 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 | #11,597 | #12,471 | -7.5% |
| Count | 2,707 | 2,375 | -12.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.92 | 0.79 | -13.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Auten bearers went from 2,707 to 2,375 (-12.3% change). The surname moved down 874 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,597 to #12,471.
FAQ
Auten surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Auten?
Name Census estimates that about 2,723 living Americans carry the surname Auten. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 125,874 residents.
How common is Auten?
Auten ranks #12,471 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.79 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,375 people with the surname Auten. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,723), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.79 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Auten.
Has Auten become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Auten went from 2,707 recorded bearers to 2,375. That is a decrease of 332 (-12.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,597 to #12,471.
What does the Census say about the background of Auten?
Among Census respondents with the surname Auten, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Auten in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.1% (2,164 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Auten appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.1%), Two or More Races (3.2%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Auten (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 Auten mean?
Derived from a Middle English personal name, a variant of Alton, meaning "old town." 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 Auten (0.79 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 Auten?
See how common the surname Auten is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.