2000
#17,363
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,500
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.56
Rare Last name
Blumenfeld
A German surname meaning "field of flowers".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,852 Americans carry the last name Blumenfeld. That puts it at #17,169 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.54 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 185,073 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Blumenfeld 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
1.9K
1 in 185,073
Census rank
#17,169
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,615 bearers of the surname Blumenfeld in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.54 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 17169th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Blumenfeld, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (1.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Blumenfeld
The surname Blumenfeld is of German origin, derived from the German words "Blumen" meaning flowers and "Feld" meaning field. It likely originated as a topographic name for someone who lived near a field of flowers or a meadow.
The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 16th century in various regions of Germany. One of the earliest known bearers was Hans Blumenfeld, a farmer from the village of Kirchheim in Hesse, mentioned in records from 1542.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various church registers and tax records across central and southern Germany, including in the regions of Saxony, Bavaria, and Württemberg. Notable individuals from this period include Johann Blumenfeld (1612-1687), a Lutheran pastor in Nürnberg, and Anna Blumenfeld (1639-1712), a midwife from Augsburg.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the name spread more widely across German-speaking areas as families migrated and settled in new regions. Some variations in spelling emerged, such as Blumenfelde and Blumenfelden.
One of the earliest known instances of the name outside of Germany is found in the United States, where Jacob Blumenfeld (1738-1815) settled in Pennsylvania after emigrating from the Palatinate region of Germany in the 1760s.
Other notable bearers of the name include:
- Otto Blumenfeld (1822-1897), a German philosopher and educator from Leipzig.
- Ernst Blumenfeld (1865-1928), a German-born American artist and illustrator.
- Samuel Blumenfeld (1907-1998), an American author and educator, known for his advocacy of phonics-based reading instruction.
- Ralph Blumenfeld (1926-2009), a British journalist and newspaper editor.
- Kathrin Blumenfeld (born 1963), a German actress and filmmaker.
Throughout its history, the surname Blumenfeld has maintained its connection to the German language and culture, while also spreading to other parts of the world through migration and immigration.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Blumenfeld
Among Census respondents with the surname Blumenfeld, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (1.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Blumenfeld 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 Blumenfeld surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.3% · 1,523
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 49
- Two or more races1.5% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 12
- Black or African American0.4% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Blumenfeld
Blumenfeld 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
#17,625
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,594
+94 bearers (+6.3%)
Per 100,000 0.54
Rank movement Down 262 places
2020
#17,169
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,615
+21 bearers (+1.3%)
Per 100,000 0.54
Rank movement Up 456 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #17,363 | 1,500 | 0.56 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #17,625 | 1,594 | 0.54 | +94 bearers (+6.3%) | Down 262 places |
| 2020 | #17,169 | 1,615 | 0.54 | +21 bearers (+1.3%) | Up 456 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 Blumenfeld 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 | #17,625 | #17,169 | 2.6% |
| Count | 1,594 | 1,615 | 1.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.54 | 0.54 | 0.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Blumenfeld bearers went from 1,594 to 1,615 (+1.3% change). The surname moved up 456 positions in the national ranking, going from #17,625 to #17,169.
FAQ
Blumenfeld surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Blumenfeld?
Name Census estimates that about 1,852 living Americans carry the surname Blumenfeld. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 185,073 residents.
How common is Blumenfeld?
Blumenfeld ranks #17,169 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.54 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 1,615 people with the surname Blumenfeld. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,852), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.54 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.54 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 Blumenfeld.
Has Blumenfeld become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Blumenfeld went from 1,594 recorded bearers to 1,615. That is an increase of 21 (+1.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #17,625 to #17,169.
What does the Census say about the background of Blumenfeld?
Among Census respondents with the surname Blumenfeld, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (1.5%). 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 Blumenfeld in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.3% (1,523 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Blumenfeld appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.3%), Hispanic (3.0%), Two or More Races (1.5%). 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 Blumenfeld (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 Blumenfeld mean?
A German surname meaning "field of flowers". 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 Blumenfeld (0.54 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 people have the surname Blumenfeld?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.