2000
#50,686
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 387
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.14
Very Rare Last name
Bodenschatz
A German surname meaning "treasure from the soil" or "underground riches."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 407 Americans carry the last name Bodenschatz. That puts it at #61,138 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.12 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 842,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bodenschatz 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
407
1 in 842,148
Census rank
#61,138
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
355
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 355 bearers of the surname Bodenschatz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.12 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 61138th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bodenschatz, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bodenschatz
The surname Bodenschatz originated in Germany, with the earliest records dating back to the 16th century. It is a compound word derived from the German words "Boden," meaning "ground" or "soil," and "Schatz," meaning "treasure." The name likely referred to someone who owned or worked on fertile or valuable land.
The name Bodenschatz has been found in various historical records and manuscripts, including church registers and tax rolls from different regions of Germany. One of the earliest known mentions of the name appears in a record from the town of Freiburg im Breisgau in 1534, where a certain Hans Bodenschatz is listed as a landowner.
The name also appears in the 17th century in the records of the village of Großbottwar, near Stuttgart, where a family of Bodenschatzes resided. In the 18th century, the Bodenschatz name is found in the records of the town of Forchtenberg, located in the present-day state of Baden-Württemberg.
Some notable historical figures with the surname Bodenschatz include:
1. Johann Bodenschatz (1597-1656), a German Lutheran theologian and hymnwriter from Saxony.
2. Georg Bodenschatz (1717-1797), a German Protestant theologian and philosopher from Hesse.
3. Friedrich Bodenschatz (1819-1892), a German philologist and lexicographer from Saxony.
4. Erich Bodenschatz (1896-1944), a German naval officer and U-boat commander during World War II.
5. Karl Bodenschatz (1890-1979), a German World War I fighter ace and Luftwaffe general during World War II.
It is worth noting that the name Bodenschatz has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, such as Bodenschatz, Bodenschätz, and Bodenschätzle, reflecting regional linguistic differences and orthographic changes.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bodenschatz
Among Census respondents with the surname Bodenschatz, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Bodenschatz 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 Bodenschatz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.5% · 339
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 4
- Two or more races0.8% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bodenschatz
Bodenschatz 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
#55,962
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 366
-21 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Down 5,276 places
2020
#61,138
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 355
-11 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Down 5,176 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #50,686 | 387 | 0.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #55,962 | 366 | 0.12 | -21 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 5,276 places |
| 2020 | #61,138 | 355 | 0.12 | -11 bearers (-3.0%) | Down 5,176 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 Bodenschatz 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 | #55,962 | #61,138 | -9.2% |
| Count | 366 | 355 | -3.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.12 | 0.12 | -1.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bodenschatz bearers went from 366 to 355 (-3.0% change). The surname moved down 5,176 positions in the national ranking, going from #55,962 to #61,138.
FAQ
Bodenschatz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bodenschatz?
Name Census estimates that about 407 living Americans carry the surname Bodenschatz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 842,148 residents.
How common is Bodenschatz?
Bodenschatz ranks #61,138 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.12 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 355 people with the surname Bodenschatz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (407), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.12 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.12 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 Bodenschatz.
Has Bodenschatz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bodenschatz went from 366 recorded bearers to 355. That is a decrease of 11 (-3.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #55,962 to #61,138.
What does the Census say about the background of Bodenschatz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bodenschatz, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.1%). 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 Bodenschatz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.5% (339 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bodenschatz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.5%), Hispanic (2.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.1%). 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 Bodenschatz (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 Bodenschatz mean?
A German surname meaning "treasure from the soil" or "underground riches." 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 Bodenschatz (0.12 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 Bodenschatz?
If you just want to know how many people are called Bodenschatz, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.